Memphis - Rhodes and Birmingham-Southern women's basketball were tied 63-63 with 28 seconds left in regulation. Rhodes had possession with 26 seconds on the shot clock as senior
Alyssa Owens let the clock run down at mid-court. Owens drove to the basket, but the pass to
Alli Mayeux hit the floor where Mayeux came up with the ball, and dished it out to
Kiera Downey. Downey side-stepped her opponent and drew back another step behind the three-point line and sank the game-winning basket with 2.3 seconds left as the shot clock expired.
That basket was her ninth of the game and only three-pointer, which keeps Rhodes undefeated at home in conference and hands BSC their first conference loss of the season. The Lynx are now 9-6 overall while BSC is 12-4 on the season. Both teams are 4-1 in SAA play.
The Panthers opened the game scoring each of their first three shot attempts on their way to a 9-2 lead. Rhodes trailed by one at the end of the first quarter, but a last-second deep three-pointer at the top of the key went in at the buzzer, giving BSC a 20-16 lead after the first quarter. The teams were tied 20-20 but a 10-2 run gave the Panthers some breathing room. At halftime, Rhodes totaled eight of the half's combined 11 blocks, led by
Maya Longacre with three. The Lynx, who have averaged 37.1 percent from three-point range prior to the game, went 1-of-9 from the arc in the first half. The Panthers led 35-30 after going 4-of-8 from long range, three of which came from Cassady Quintana.
Rhodes held a 15-11 third quarter advantage. With the game tied 37-all, an
Alli Mayeux free throw gave Rhodes their first lead of the game with 6:46 left in the third quarter. BSC led by one headed into the final frame. After the Panthers opened the fourth quarter with a trey, Rhodes scored six straight points to lead by two. BSC tied the game but another six unanswered points put the Lynx ahead by six, their largest lead of the game with 4:05 left to play. The two teams would be tied again at scores of 59, 61 and 63 before Downey's game-winner.
Downey totaled 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the win with 14 of those points coming in the second half. Owens finished with 14 points while
Maya Longacre recorded 10 points and finished with a career-high four blocks. Mayeux recorded all 12 of her rebounds in the second half and
Alexys Mathangani totaled eight points and two blocks while fellow freshman
Taya Lee picked up two steals.
During the game, Rhodes shot their lowest of the season from three-point range (.176) going 3-of-17. The Lynx averaged 37.1% in the field overall but a 57.1 shooting percentage in the fourth quarter helped them to a 21-17 advantage. In the game the Lynx went 17-of-21 from the free throw line (.810), their second highest in accuracy this season as they also recorded a season-high nine team blocks.
Rhodes will be on the road, taking on Sewanee Friday followed by Centre on Sunday.
