SEWANEE, Tenn. - In only its fourth season as a varsity program, the Rhodes College women's lacrosse team continues to cement themselves as one of the premier programs in the southeast, completing a perfect season and winning the SAA Title outright with a 17-11 win over in-state rival Sewanee on Saturday afternoon.

For the Lynx, it is their second regular season title and the first time they've earned the title outright. They earn the No. 1 seed for the first time and hosting rights as they look to claim their third consecutive tournament title and third straight appearance in the NCAA Championship.

It is also the Lynx first ever undefeated regular season, both overall and in conference. Rhodes was simply dominant since game one, out scoring their opponents 339-89 including a 155-41 advantage in conference.

Their game on Saturday was far from a coronation, as the Tigers gave their rivals everything they could handle on their home field.

Rhodes out shot Sewanee 39-27 and forced 31 Tiger turnovers on the afternoon. The Lynx picked up 25 ground balls on the day and were even with Sewanee in draw controls at 15.

A fired up Sewanee squad came out firing on all cylinders, taking a 2-0 lead in only three minutes of play. Junior Ashley Doyle got the Lynx on the board, but Sewanee responded with a goal of their own for a 3-1 lead.

Junior Kendall Cunningham and sophomore Annika Hedlund scored back-to-back goals to even the game at three. The Tigers got one back for a 4-3 lead, but that would be the final lead they would hold as Rhodes scored five straight goals to take an 8-4 lead.

Five different Lynx scored during the run as Maggie Rippeto, Lindsay Gess, Erin Gleeson, Cunningham, and Hedlund all found the back of the cage.

Sewanee did not fold, scoring two goals before the break and swinging some momentum in their favor despite Rhodes taking an 8-6 lead into the break.

The Lynx didn't let it affect them at all, opening the half with three goals in the first three minutes as Gleeson scored a pair while Cunningham added one for an 11-6 lead. 

The resilient Tigers responded with three straight to make it an 11-9 game, but that would be as close as they get as Rhodes went on another streak, this time with six straight goals to push the lead to eight and close out the contest, even with a few late goals from the Tigers.

Gess led the way with five points, scoring two to go with three assists, while Cunningham, Rippety, and freshman Kaeley Bennett all had four points. Cunningham had four goals while Rippeto had three and an assist. Bennett finished with a career-high four assists.

Gleeson and Hedlund each had hat tricks while Doyle had a pair of goals. Senior Ashley Dill added an assist on the day.

Defensively, six different Lynx had two caused turnovers. Doyle, sophomore Daly Colarossi, and junior Katherine Tooley all finished with two and three ground balls while Bennett, senior Emily Teague, and freshman Madison Rubino each had two as well.

Gleeson, Dill, and sophomore Dylan Craddock all had three ground balls while Doyle finished with nine draw controls. Tooley finished with six saves in the cage on the afternoon.

Rhodes moves onto the SAA Championship at the No. 1 seed as they prepare to host the winner of No. 4 Centre and No. 5 Birmingham-Southern on Sunday. The time of the game will be announced later in the week. A Lynx win will allow them to host the conference title game the following week.