MEMPHIS, Tenn. (February 20, 2022) - After a rough start, Rhodes was able to get into their groove and dispatch the Hendrix Warriors in the first round of the SAA playoffs. With the win, Rhodes moves to 21-2 on the season, and will face the #4 seed Centre Colonels in the semi-finals. 

In eerily similar fashion to the previous meeting between these two teams (last Tuesday), the first quarter was ugly. Hendrix scored eight points on 4-17 shooting (0-6 3P), but it was a better stat line than Rhodes, who only managed seven points on 3-15 (0-5 3P). 

Rhodes worked the ball down low early in the second quarter, scoring on three straight possessions with two makes from A'Niya Lagarde and one from Catherine Althoff. At the halfway point, Alli Mayeux connected on two three-pointers to increase the Lynx lead to 19-14. Mayeux then got a tough bucket in the paint, followed by a layup from Alexys Mathangani, who was seeing her first court time since December. Rhodes maintained a lead for the remainder of the quarter until Alicia McCloria drilled a triple with three seconds left for Hendrix to tie things up at 26.

It was back to the paint for Rhodes in the third, where they scored their first six points of the quarter courtesy of Taya Lee ad Lagarde. After a Warrior make to keep it close, Ellen Hagen sparked a fresh Rhodes run with a three, followed by a Mayeux layup. Near the end of the quarter, Hendrix pulled within three, but Hagen came through with another shot from distance to make the score 44-36.

Rhodes started the fourth quarter cold, and allowed Hendrix to make a run. Kelsi Korb finished a three-point play, followed by five straight from Kennedi Burns to make it a four-point game, 48-44. Rhodes responded before things got out of control, with 14 straight points to end the game. With a phenomenal defensive display, Rhodes limited the Warriors to 0-8 shooting and forced four turnovers in the final 5:50 of action to take home the win, 62-44.

Mayeux played all 40 minutes in this one, and finished with a team-high 19 points to go with 13 rebounds. Lagarde also joined the double-double club with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Catherine Althoff chipped in 12 and nine boards. The aforementioned Lynx defense was stupendous, holding Hendrix to 27.4% shooting for the game.  

On deck for the Lynx is a matchup with #4 Centre, who defeated Millsaps 56-38 earlier in the day. Rhodes, the #1 seed for the tournament, will host both semi-final games and the championship next weekend. Dates and times are still to be determined, and will be announced on our social media channels as soon as we find out from the SAA office.