MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Rhodes women's basketball team used a balanced attack to blow by Sewanee, 70-50 on Friday in the opening round of the Southern Athletic Association Conference Tournament.
 
Rhodes advances to 22-3 on the year while the Tigers finish their season at 16-10.
 
Rhodes opened the contest hot, with a three right off the bat from Dy'nelle Todman, to grab the early 3-0 lead. The Lynx quickly pushed out to a 14 point lead at the 14:13 mark after a Symone Daniels lay-in and a Natalie Goodrum three made the count 18-4.
 
The Lynx' offense continued to produce while their defense stifled any Tiger production. A Sarah Johnson three lifted the Lynx up 17, 31-14 at the 5:27 mark. Back-to-back-to-back baskets by Lauren Avant lifted the Lynx even higher, as they led 37-16 with 3:38 to play. The Tigers closed out play with a three from Paige Lowe, as the Lynx took at 37-21 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Lynx were led at the half by Todman, who had 14 first half points. Avant added 11 with Daniels chipping in six. The Tigers' Jamie Chauvin also posted 14 points, followed by Paige Lowe who added five.
 
Rhodes held its opponent to 35.0 percent shooting in the first half, with a mere 14.3 percent shooting from beyond the three point arc. The Lynx posted 44.4 percent from the field in the opening half, with a 50.0 percent conversion rate from beyond the three point line.
 
Coach Matt Dean's squad came out determined in the second half, with a pair of buckets off the bat from Avant and Daniels to push to a 42-21 lead with 16:43 to play in the contest. The Tigers cut the deficit to 15 after a Kayla Sewell three made the score 53-38 at the 10:18 mark.
 
The Rhodes defense held strong, holding Sewanee to only 29 points in the second half. The Lynx finished out the contest strong, posting a 70-50 victory.
 
Rhodes was led by Avant who netted 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Todman posted a season high 19 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. Daniels added 12 points and two steals while Johnson finished with six assists and two steals.
 
The Tigers offense was led by Chauvin, who totaled 16 points and nine rebounds. Sewell added 13 points followed by 11 from Lowe.
 
Rhodes held their opponent to 31.9 percent shooting from the field and only 21.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Lynx shot 43.6 percent on the day, with 42.1 percent shooting from three point land. The Lynx also forced 17 turnovers, which the capitalized on, turning them into 21 points.
 
Rhodes advances to the SAA Tournament Semi-Finals set to take place on Saturday, March 1 at 8 p.m. The Lynx will face off against the winner of the No. 4 seeded Berry College and the No. 5 seed Birmingham-Southern College.