MEMPHIS - The Rhodes College women's basketball team sent their five seniors out in a big win, holding off a Centre rally in the second half for a 65-56 win in front of a raucous crowd at Mallory Gymnasium.
Rhodes shot well from the field, going 23-for-52 (44.2%) and a red-hot 7-for-11 (63.6%) from downtown. The Lynx were also 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. Rhodes held Centre to 20-for-52 (38.5%) from the field and 6-for-14 (42.9%) from deep. The Lyn forced 16 turnovers while only turned it over 12 times. The Rhodes bench outscored the Colonels, 32-25.
The Lynx started all seniors in
Symone Daniels,
Catherine Eckert,
Hannah Orth,
Madison Butler, and
Isabelle Tehrani. The Lynx made three 3-pointers in the first six minutes thanks to Eckert and Butler while Daniels and junior
Blaire Smith added buckets to go ahead 13-3. Sophomore
Erin Deery added a three later in the quarter as Rhodes took an 18-7 lead after one.
Rhodes continued to domiante in the second quarter, getting to the line to push their lead to as many as 15. After a Smith jumper move the Lynx ahead 30-15, Centre scored the final four points to put a spark in their squad going into the break.
Centre was red hot in the third quarter, outscoring the Lynx 18-11 while cutting their 11-point lead to a four by the end of the quarter. Midway through the fourth, Centre would take the lead at 46-45. However, sophomore
Jessie Ustick had a pair of buckets while junior
Bailey Kramer sank a three to go ahead 52-48.
Eckert would hit the dagger with 2:22 to go as she buried her third 3-pointer to go ahead by seven. From the there, Smith would make six free throws in the final minutes to close the game out and give the seniors a huge win.
Smith led all scorers with 16 points off the bench while the senior duo of Daniels and Eckert added 15 points each. Ustick scored eight off the bench. Kramer led all Lynx rebounders with seven while Daniel added six. Eckert had three steals while Kramer had three assists.
Paige Kellam and Michele Judy each had 10 points to lead the way for Centre.
Rhodes moves to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in the SAA. The Lynx will have their final home game on Sunday as they welcome in their rivals, the Sewanee Tigers. First tip is set for 1 PM.
