Atlanta, Ga. - Rhodes College women's basketball, under first year head coach Rodney Rogan, will advance to the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) tournament championship game for the second year in a row. The Lynx came back from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter to defeat the No. 3-seed Centre 81-76 in overtime. The win, their fourth in a row, elevates Rhodes to 16-9 on the season while Centre concludes the year 16-10. 

Rhodes led 13-10 after the first quarter but the Colonels held a 25-14 second quarter advantage to lead 35-27 at halftime. The Lynx inched their way within reach with a 19-16 third quarter scoring advantage. Centre led 51-46 to start the final quarter of regulation. 

Rhodes opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to tied the game before Ellen Hagen connected on a jumper to give Rhodes their first lead since the end of the first quarter. Centre tied the game 55-55 before Taya Lee scored a layup to give Rhodes the lead the remaining 4:29 of the game. Rhodes went up by five points when Kiera Downey scored with 2:28 to go, but Centre pulled within one with 1:19 left in regulation. Downey scored again with 32 seconds left and a Colonel offensive rebound allowed Centre to pull within one with nine seconds to go. A quick foul from the Colonels sent Hagen to the free throw line to put Rhodes ahead by three. With six seconds left, Hagen fouled and Centre connected on the first free throw when Alli Mayeux brought down the defensive rebound. Mayeux missed both of her free throws with six seconds left. After a Centre defensive rebound and timeout, the Colonels made a layup with 0.2 seconds left to send the game (66-66) into overtime. 

During the overtime period, Hagen fouled out in the first minute before the Colonels ran into foul trouble. Centre led 68-67 but three Colonels would foul out of the game, including Centre's leading-scorer Abigail Wehby. Tied 69-69, 10 of Rhodes' 12-7 run would come from the free throw line. Centre pulled within two with 38 seconds left on two free throws, but the Lynx scored five points in a row to lead 80-73 with 10 seconds left.

Four Colonels totaled double digits as the team went 6-of-14 from three-point range. The Lynx only went 3-of-14 from the arc but shot 42.1 percent in the field and out-rebounded the Colonels 46-41. 

Downey led the game with 20 points going 7-of-16 overall while Maya Longacre tallied 16 points with eight rebounds and three blocks and Alyssa Owens recorded 15 points on 5-of-11 field goal attempts. Mayeux dominated the boards, totaling a career-high 16 rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double with nine points. She also recorded three blocks. Eleven of Downey's 20 points came in the fourth quarter and six of Longacre's 16 points came in overtime.

The Lynx, who completed the game at 8:25 p.m. ET, will rest up for the 2020 SAA Tournament Championship game vs. No. 11/13-ranked Oglethorpe at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. The Stormy Petrels, who are 26-1 on the year, are also ranked second in the South region and defeated Millsaps 64-53. Last year Rhodes defeated Oglethorpe 56-41 to be crowned tournament champions.