Memphis, Tenn. - Rhodes College women's basketball won two games during their Rhodes Classic this past weekend, earning a 3-0 start to the 2018-19 season. The Lynx defeated Bluffton on Saturday 56-43 before downing Fontbonne on Sunday 67-42.
Saturday
After taking a 17-8 lead in the first quarter on Sunday, Bluffton out-scored Rhodes 11-3 during the second frame, cutting Rhodes' lead to one point. The Lynx dominated the third quarter with a 12-point advantage, which lifted them to their second win of the year. Junior
Alyssa Owens led the game with 16 points followed by
Lindsey Whiteside with 14 points. Whiteside went five-of-seven in the field and tallied five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore
Maya Longacre recorded two blocks while freshman
Kiera Downey led the Lynx with three steals. Alongside Whiteside with five rebounds in the game were Longacre, Owens and senior
Moriah Muhammad.
Sunday
The Lynx held a marginal 13-10 lead after the first quarter against Fontbonne University before the game was tied 17-all. Rhodes went on a 10-1 run before Raven Venegas hit a three-pointer for Fontbonne, giving Rhodes a 27-21 halftime advantage. Both teams scored 18 points in the third quarter. During the fourth quarter the Lynx came alive, netting 10 of their 13 field goals while Fontbonne scored their lone bucket 20 seconds into the final frame.
Allie Young, who played just four minutes in the second and third quarters, scored 10 points on all five shot attempts and recorded four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in her final nine minutes of play. The senior finished the game with a season-high 24 points and three blocks as she earned her first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Young went 12-of-14 on the evening.
Downey totaled a career-high 14 points and seven rebounds while Owens tied a career-high seven assists. Whiteside and freshman
Ellen Hagen both totaled five assists as well. In the game, both teams struggled from long range, with Fontbonne connecting on four of 27 attempts while Rhodes hit three treys on 18 attempts. Overall the Lynx shot 47.5% in the field compared to the Griffins' 26.2% accuracy.
The Lynx will return to Mallory Gymnasium on Tuesday, hosting Rose-Hulman at 6 p.m. before the Lynx are off over the holiday break.
