MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Rhodes women's basketball sent off Senior Lauren Avant with a 63-53 win over Millsaps College on Friday to cap Rhodes College Senior day.
 
The Lynx move to 16-3 on the season and 8-1 in league play. The Majors fall to 12-7 and 6-3 in the SAA.
 
Rhodes opened the contest with the first four points, after Lauren Avant knocked down a three and a free throw at the 15:53 mark to make the score 4-0. After the early lead, the Lynx watched the Majors take control and go on a 9-0 run after a pair of Sam Perez layups to take the 11-6 lead with 10:22 to play.
 
Rhodes wouldn't stay down long, as they regained the lead after a Blaire Smith three, followed by a pair of Symone Daniels free throws made the count 16-15 with 5:43 to play in the opening half. Coach Matt Dean's squad would close out the half with a solid run of 13-4 to take the 29-19 lead into the half.
 
Avant led all scorers at the half, with 15 points. Avant also pulled in five rebounds and two blocks in the opening half of play. Symone Daniels added six points to the Lynx total, also with five rebounds. Perez was the Majors leader, with 11 points, followed by Velvet Johnson, who added four.
 
Rhodes posted a 27.3 percent field goal percentage with four made three pointers in the first half. Millsaps posted a first half shooting percentage of 37.5 percent, with the Lynx holding them to only one made three.
 
With a Sarah Johnson lay-in to open the half, the Lynx widened the gap to 31-19 at the 19:42 mark. Rhodes continued to build on its lead, posting a 15 point advantage after a Natalie Goodrum three and an Avant layup with 9:05 to play to make the count 48-33.
 
The majors worked to whittle away the Lynx' lead, posting a 7-0 run behind a pair of Perez buckets at the 6:12 mark to cut the deficit to 6, 48-42. Rhodes charged back with a Johnson three at the 3:35 mark to give the Lynx a 53-44 lead. Coach Dean's squad closed out the final minutes of the game with solid defense and explosive offence to clinch a 63-53 win.
 
Avant led all scorers with her 26 point performance, and fell two rebounds short of a double-double with eight. The senior also posted five assists and two blocked shots in the outing. Daniels finished the night with a double-double, scoring 14 and rebounding 12. Daniels also snagged three steals. Johnson worked her way into double digits with 12 points and handed out five assists of her own, to go with two steals.
 
The Majors were led by Perez who netted 25 points and five rebounds. V. Johnson added 11 towards the Majors total.
 
The Lynx shot a 33.9 field goal percentage in the contest while knocking down eight of 25 three point attempts. Millsaps put up 40.7 percent shooting from the field with only two made threes. Rhodes forced 14 turnovers which they turned into 19 points.
 
The Lynx will wrap up their home season on Sunday as they host Birmingham-Southern College on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m.