Rhodes Athletics Weekend Preview (Dec. 16-20 )
The Men's Basketball team will host the Rhodes Holiday Classic Tournament this weekend. On Monday, the Women's Basketball team will travel to compete in Florida at the St. Pete Classic Tournament.
Saturday
(Home)
Men's Basketball
Breakdown
The Lynx are coming off a bye weekend and are ready to get back in action on Saturday afternoon. The Lynx are now 4-4 on the season, with a 2-game win streak. This Saturday at 1:00 p.m., the Lynx will face the LaGrange College Panthers to kick off the Rhodes Holiday Classic. This will be only the third time in school history that the Lynx will face the Panthers. The current record between the two teams is 1-1. These two teams last met in 2018, when the Lynx lost 77-80.
Sophomore Phil Dotson leads the team in points this season, averaging 26.9 points per game. In the Lynx's latest weekend series against Hendrix and Huntingdon, Dotson had 65 points for the weekend. Dotson was 7-8 for three-pointers in the game versus Hendrix and totaled 35 points, which helped lead his team to a 79-70 victory. At this point in the season, Dotson has 215 points, 36 assists, 29 rebounds, and 13 steals. Zavien Williams also had a huge part in the team's win over Hendrix. Williams finished the game with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Williams is tied for leading the team in rebounds with 38. He also has recorded 91 points, 13 assists, and 10 steals. Williams averages 13 points per game so far this season.
Scouting Report
The Panthers are 7-2 on the season, with their latest win being a 76-65 win over the Point University Skyhawks. This season, the team is averaging 81.7 points per game and allowing 76 points per game.
Kendall Wallace is the head coach for the Panthers, and he is in his 10th season. The Panther's top scorer to watch is freshman Samuel Moss, who has 109 points, 15 assists, and 28 rebounds for the season. Moss is also a massive threat at the free throw line, with a free throw percentage of 85.3. On the defensive end, another Panther to look out for is Brodie Scott. Scott has 55 rebounds and 9 steals so far this season. He is also an offensive threat, with 83 points total this year.
Monday
(Home)
Men's Basketball
Breakdown
At 1:00 p.m. in Mallory Gymnasium, the Lynx will go up against the Sewanee Tigers on Monday afternoon as part of the Rhodes Holiday Classic. This is the second game for the Lynx in this tournament.
This season, the Lynx have two crucial defensive weapons, Trevor Lombard and Arness Georgetown II. Lombard is tied, leading the team in rebounds with 38. 29 of his 38 rebounds are defensive rebounds. Lombard has also made it difficult for opposing teams to generate their offense due to his 9 steals for the season. His highest number of steals came in the team's game against Webster when he had 3 steals. While Lombard is one of the team's top defensive players, he has also shown that he is a versatile athlete and can perform on the offensive side of the game. Lombard has recorded 80 points and 13 assists, with 54 points coming from the 3-point line. His best game this year was against Webster University when he dropped 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
Arness Georgetown II has used his 6'5 frame to lead the team in blocks this year. He has recorded 5 blocks and had a season-high of 3 blocks against Colorado College earlier this year. Georgetown II has helped the team tremendously, with 28 total rebounds, 25 being defensive rebounds. Like Lombard, Georgetown II is also an offensive weapon. He has 55 points and 16 assists, with 36 points coming from 3-pointers. Georgetown II has been improving his scoring each game this year. In the team's most recent game against Huntingdon, he had a season-high of 25 points and was 6-8 from the 3-point line. He also recorded 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Scouting Report
The Tigers are 3-5 this season with wins over Centre College, Covenant College, and Bob Jones University. This is the 35th time in school history that the Tigers will go up against the Lynx and are tied 17-17 in all-time matchups. The most recent matchup was in 2022, where the Tigers won 77-63.
Brian Emerson is the head coach for the Tigers and is in his fifth season leading them. Emerson led the Tigers to the SAA Championship game last year. This year, the Tigers have a player who is critical to their success: junior Russ Marr. Marr has 123 points on the season and averages 15.4 points per game. Marr is 81.6 percent from the free-throw line and is a substantial defensive threat. Marr has 12 steals, 6 blocks, and 22 rebounds.
Tuesday
(Away)
Women's Basketball
Breakdown
Women's Basketball has their second tournament of the year this coming week in St. Pete Beach, FL. The Lynx will kick off the tournament against Drew University on Tuesday at noon. The Women's team is also coming off of a bye weekend and will look to add another win to their schedule. The Lynx are currently 3-3 for the season so far.
Avery Marsh and Kearstyn Seay are leading the team in points this season. Marsh has 94 points and averages 14.8 points per game. Along with the impressive number of points Marsh has put up this season, she has also tallied 31 rebounds, 14 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks. Marsh is extremely dangerous at the free-throw line, with an impressive 91.9 free-throw percentage. Earlier this year, Marsh helped her team win against Huntingdon by recording a season-high of 20 points. Kearstyn Seay is doing exceedingly well so far and has a total of 45 points and averages 9 points per game. Seay is also exceptionally gifted at the free throw line, making 12 out of 15 for an 80 percent free throw average. Her totals this season are 31 rebounds and 7 assists, and she leads the team in steals with 9. Seay has recorded 1 double-double, with 13 points and 12 rebounds against East Texas Baptist University.
Scouting Report
The Rangers are 3-4 this year and 2-2 in conference play. This is the first time in school history that the Rangers will go up against the Lynx. The Rangers are coached by John Olenowski, who is in his 8th season leading the Rangers. Last year, Olenowski helped his team to the second-most-winning season in school history. Even though the Rangers graduated their best player last year, there are two players to look out for on the Rangers team this season: Jamie Sturble and Morgan Maddy. Sturble has 83 points, 43 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 13 steals. Maddie has 57 points, 28 rebounds, 11 assists, and 12 steals.
Wednesday
(Away)
Women's Basketball
Breakdown
For their second game of the St Pete Classic tournament, the Lynx will take on Wesleyan University at noon on Wednesday. The Lynx and are 0-1 in all time meetings against the Cardinals
Another Lynx player who is doing a tremendous job this season is Gianna Vlahakos. Vlahakos has recorded 60 rebounds, 11 blocks, 6 steals, 14 assists, and 29 points. She is a defensive threat and has proven to be a real problem for other teams' defenses. She is leading her team in two categories: rebounds and assists. Vlahakos had a fantastic defensive game earlier in the season when she recorded 18 rebounds against The University of the Ozarks. In the following game in that weekend series, she recorded 14 rebounds against Huntingdon College.
Scouting Report
The Cardinals are 5-3 this year. This is the second time in school history that the Cardinals will play against the Lynx. These teams last met in 2003, when the Cardinals beat the Lynx 56-34. The Cardinals head coach is Kate Mullen, who is in her 32nd season leading the Cardinals. Mullen has led the Cardinals to two NCAA Championships during her time as head coach.
Two Cardinals to look out for on the team this season are Olivia Quinn and Felicia Fongemie. Quinn has 126 points and is averaging 15.8 points per game. Fongemie is right behind Quinn with 110 points, averaging 13.8 points per game.
