Atlanta, Ga. – Rhodes' third quarter shooting struggles aided Oglethorpe's 80-70 victory Sunday in a Southern Athletic Association Tournament Championship re-match from 2019.
 
The loss is the first of the new year for the Lynx and ends a four-game win streak. Oglethorpe is now 13-1 on the season, have won 11 games in a row and are ranked 16^th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
 
Despite Oglethorpe winning the tipoff, the Lynx came away with the first bucket of the game after 80 seconds of scoreless play. Tied 10-10, Alli Mayeux sank back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lynx a 16-10 advantage, securing the first trey of the game. The Stormy Petrels came back on a 9-3 run to tie the game 19-19 after the first quarter.
 
Mayeux continued her hot shooting, nailing the first three-pointer of the second quarter. With Rhodes leading 24-21, Oglethorpe scored seven straight points until the Lynx answered with a 12-2 run to lead 36-30. Rhodes finished the first half ahead 41-39, with Oglethorpe sinking a trey just before the buzzer. Kiera Downey led the half for Rhodes with 10 points while Nikki Reed totaled 14 points for Oglethorpe.
 
Relatively even through most of the third quarter, the Stormy Petrels ended the third quarter with a 59-53 lead after scoring six points in a row. Rhodes went 2-of-15 in the field during those 10 minutes while Oglethorpe went 7-of-22 with a 16-10 rebounding advantage.
 
The hosts then opened the fourth quarter with a jumper inside the paint. Oglethorpe led by 10 with 4:12 remaining when the Lynx took a timeout. An Oglethorpe timeout with just over 30 seconds remaining helped the Lynx come out of the break with a trap near midcourt which allowed a Lynx steal and layup to pull Rhodes within six with 30 seconds left.
 
Oglethorpe closed the game with four free throws as the Lynx were forced to foul and missed two three-point attempts.
 
Rhodes was led by Downey who totaled the game-high 23 points (8-of-19) followed by Mayeux with 12 points (4-of-6) from long range. Owens also finished the game in double digits with 11 points. On the boards, Maya Longacre led the Lynx with eight rebounds while Alexys Mathangani totaled six. Downey and Owens both recorded five assists.
 
The game against the Stormy Petrels was the fourth of the week for the Lynx who now return to Mallory Gymnasium for a four-game home stand. Rhodes will host Millsaps on Friday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m. followed by Birmingham-Southern on Jan. 12.