MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Blaire Smith notched a career-high 21 points on Friday to lead the Rhodes women's basketball team past Centre College, 63-60.
 
The Lynx improve to 12-4 on the season and 3-2 in Southern Athletic Association play while the Colonels fall to 6-9 on the year and 2-3 in league action.
 
The Lynx started things off strong with a quick three-point basket by Blaire Smith to gain the lead. The first minutes of the game continued to be dominated by Lynx both on the offensive and defensive ends when another Smith trey put the Lynx up 20-10 over the Colonels with 10:10 remaining in the first half.
 
Smith continued to come up big for the Lynx, hitting a three point bucket with 7:55 left in the first half to force a Colonels timeout. Despite the break, the Colonels offense struggled against the Lynx full court pressure. Madison Butler came off the bench to score a quick three to put the Lynx up 28-17 with 6:10 remaining in the first half.
 
However, turn overs plagued the Lynx and helped the Colonels chip away at the Rhodes lead.  Johnson came up with the big answer to close the half, when she hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Lynx a 35-27 lead at the half.
 
Both Smith and Sarah Jonson proved tough to guard in the first half with nine points apiece. Smith went 3-4 beyond the three-point arc, while Johnson shot 3-6 from the floor and 3-4 at the charity stripe. The Colonels were led at the break by Maggie Hartlage who netted eight first half points. Alexis Guy added seven to Centre's totals.
 
From the field, Rhodes shot 40.0 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from beyond the arc, and an impressive 83.3 % from the free-throw line. Centre fired 35.7 percent from the field in the first half and went 0-5 from three point land to start the contest.
 
The Colonels came out strong to start the second half, and a 16-6 run erased the Lynx lead, turning it into a Centre 43-41 lead with 10:27 to play.  Smith continued to lead the Rhodes' offense, answering with a three-pointer to put the Lynx back on top at 44-43 with a 10:08 to play.
Hannah Orth came off the bench and hit a three to further Rhodes lead to 51-46 with 6:53 left in the game. The Colonels continued to battle, but another trey by Symone Daniels brought a surge of confidence to Mallory Gym to put the Lynx up 57-48 with 3:40 left to play.
 
Rhodes fought to withstand a Centre surge, and after a Hartlage three, an Olivia Colliver jumper and a pair of free throws from Michele Judy, the Colonels had cut the Lynx advantage to just 57-55 at the 1:12 mark. Rhodes weathered the fouling storm, and despite a last second three from Colliver, held on for the 63-60 win.
 
The Lynx' offense was led by Smith throughout the game, as she finished with a career-high 21 points. The sophomore shot 5-8 from beyond the three point line and converted six of eight free throw attempts. Dy'Nelle Todman and Johnson each finished with 10 points apiece, with Johnson dishing out six assists in the outing. Rhodes shot 34.0 percent from the field and an impressive 33.3 percent from beyond the three point line.
 
For the Colonels, Hartlage led the charge with 14 points. Guy netted 13 in the contest with Judy notching 12 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Centre shot 38.5 percent from the field in the contest and a mere 21.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Rhodes will be back in action on Jan. 25 when the Lynx host conference rivals Sewanee at 1 p.m.