COLUMBUS, Miss, (December 7, 2021) - Rhodes took home their second consecutive win in dramatic fashion, this time besting the Mississippi University for Women Owls on the road by a score of 77-75. The win moves Rhodes to 5-3 on the year, while MUW falls to 0-7.
Rhodes set the pace early on, jumping out to an early lead thanks to a
Jalen Essick jumper and three free throws from
Mac James. Moments later,
Koki Wiley connceted on back-to-back shots from the paint, and assisted on a
Kevin Shen three to extend the Lynx lead to 12-6. Terry Coleman Jr. countered with baskets on consecutive possessions to pull the Owls within three. Needing a boost, the Lynx turned to sniper
Hayden Lamey who connected on a pair of threes to extend the lead back out to 22-13. Again, the Owls were able to answer back. Terryonte Thomas showcased his long-distance stroke with a trio of buckets from distance to pull MUW within two at 28-26. Rhodes then received a jolt from Wiley who hit another three, followed by five free throws to make it 38-26. A three from James and two more Wiley freebies ended the Lynx scoring for the half, with Rhodes leading 46-36.
The two teams had similar shooting numbers in terms of field goal makes (13 for Rhodes, 14 for MUW) and threes (six for Rhodes, five for MUW). The difference came from the charity stripe where Rhodes knocked down all 14 of their first-half free throw attempts, compared to 3-6 shooting from the Owls.
A pair of layups for Thomas got the scoring going for MUW in the second half, before Wiley and
Arness Georgetown II scored on three straight possessions for the Lynx. The two teams would then exchange blows for the next few minutes, with neither squad able to put together an extensive run. The Rhodes defense stepped up nicely, keeping the Owls scoreless for a four-minute stretch near the middle of the half. Unfortunately, the Owls returned the favor, keeping Rhodes off the board from 12:49 until 8:26 left. After
Mac James hit a layup, Wiley connected for yet another triple, and Rhodes had a comfortable 70-59 lead at the eight-minute media timeout.
Refusing to give up on their home floor, MUW began chipping away at the Lynx lead. Three point makes from Shon Wright and Thomas brought the Owls to within three at the three-minute mark, followed by a three-point play from Thomas to tie things up at 72 with two minutes to go. The Rhodes defense once again dialed up a big stop, and called timeout after securing a rebound. They put the ball in the hands of Wiley, whose floater with under a minute to go made the score 74-72. Seconds later, Shon Wright nailed a huge three for MUW, giving them their first lead of the game with 40 seconds to go. The Lynx failed to score on their next possession, leading to head coach Zo Goodson calling for the intentional foul. The move paid off as Dariun Doss missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, giving the ball back to Rhodes. After a timeout, Rhodes drew up a beautiful play with Wiley drawing the defense's attention before kicking it out to James for the go-ahead three with six seconds on the clock to give the Lynx a 77-75 win.
Wiley had a monster game, finishing with a line of 29 points (56% shooting), 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals. James had 16 points for Rhodes, including three triples. Thomas was the game's leading scorer in a losing effort, posting 33 points for the Owls.
Next up for Rhodes is a pair of games in the Sunshine State. Following exams, the Lynx will head to Daytona Beach to take on Salisbury University on December 19, and Stevenson University on December 20.
