Conway, Ark. – Not only will Rhodes women's basketball be playing three games in three days this weekend, but to kick it off, Lynx head coach Lauren Avant Sumski '14, led Rhodes against a former Lynx colleague. Rhodes took on Southwestern (TX) Friday night, led by first year head coach Greta Grothe. Grothe was an assistant coach for the Lynx during Sumski's senior campaign.
Rhodes' early turnovers, coupled with shooting struggles in the third quarter, allowed the Pirates to take an 18-point lead in the third frame. The Lynx made a comeback and trailed by just two points in the final minute before senior Allie Young blocked a Southwestern shot and pulled in the rebound. Coach Sumski called a timeout with 33 seconds to go and set up the Lynx to tie the game 68-68 after an Alli Mayeau layup. The Pirates took a timeout with 25 seconds left to advance the ball and look for a game-winning shot. Young had other ideas and stole the ball and went coast-to-coast to sink the winning bucket.
Rhodes began the game with a 9-5 advantage before the Pirates scored 10 straight points including back-to-back three pointer's to take a 15-9 lead until Rhodes was able to pull within two to end the first period. The Lynx then trailed 37-34 at halftime, led by sophomore Lindsay Whiteside who scored 11 points.
Leading 39-36, the Pirates scored 15 straight points to lead 54-36 with 2:30 left in the third quarter. Rhodes snapped that run with six unanswered free throws on their way to a 13-2 run, pulling within seven points of the Texas team. Southwestern put a gap in the score and held a 12-point advantage with five minutes left to play, however Rhodes pulled within five points with three minutes left before going on for the wild finish. The win keeps the Lynx unbeaten this season with a 5-0 record. Southwestern is now 1-6 on the year.
In the game, Southwestern scored 22 points off Lynx turnovers, however, just as Rhodes struggled shooting in the third quarter, the Pirates struggled in the fourth quarter, netting only four of 19 field goals. Rhodes was led by Whiteside and Alyssa Owens who both totaled 14 points. Crashing the boards was Moriah Muhammad with a career-high 15 rebounds while Young and Owens both recorded nine rebounds. Muhammad secured four rebounds in each of the first two periods, two in the third and five in the fourth quarter to help propel the Lynx to victory.
Saturday Rhodes will conclude play in the Hendrix Classic when they take on Texas Lutheran at 3 p.m. The Lynx will end the weekend back at home with a noon game against No. 19-ranked Austin College on Sunday.