The Oglethorpe women's basketball team fell to the homestanding Rhodes Lynx 56-45 Friday night in Memphis, Tennessee. Rhodes outscored the Stormy Petrels 35-18 over the middle two quarters en route to the 11-point win, which dropped Oglethorpe to 13-4 on the season overall and 4-2 in SAA play and put them back in second place in the league.
The Petrels began the game on the right foot, outscoring the Lynx 16-10 over the course of the opening 10 minutes. They went on a 12-4 run stretching from the 6:15 mark of the first quarter to the 9:55 mark of the second and built an 18-10 advantage. However, Rhodes responded with a 20-4 run which stretched over 10 minutes from the first minute of the second quarter to the 9:40 mark of the third, flipping the game in their favor and taking a 30-22 lead.
Oglethorpe quickly answered back, scoring nine straight points over the next 2:15 to take the lead back, 31-30, with 7:25 left in the third. However, the home team soon took control back, as they scored 12 consecutive points over 5:10 to take their largest lead of the game to that point, 43-32, with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
They maintained that advantage throughout the fourth quarter and pushed their lead to as many as 14 points, 56-42, with 2:40 remaining. The Petrels were unable to come back and the Lynx cruised to the 11-point win.
The Petrels shot just 28.3 percent from the field and were 4-for-23 from 3-point range and 7-of-16 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Rhodes shot 35.3 percent from the field and was 6-of-17 from 3-point range. The Lynx outrebounded Oglethorpe 50-38.
Despite the loss, sophomore center Savannah LeGate had an excellent game, scoring 21 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and recording three blocks. Junior forward Karlymarie Dyer scored six points and grabbed six boards while senior guard Brooke Simpson finished with five points, four rebounds and three steals.
The Petrels continue their road trip Sunday afternoon, when they travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Hendrix at 2 p.m. EST. After that, they'll return to Dorough Field House for a four-game homestand over two weekends.