Hickory, N.C. - The Carson-Newman College Women's Basketball Team (14-15) defeated Lenoir-Rhyne University (14-13), 77-67, in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2011 Food Lion SAC Tournament Wednesday at Shuford Gymnasium.?

The Bears are the third seed in the tournament while the Lady Eagles are seeded sixth.

Carson-Newman, led by Mandy Mendenhall's (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) 15 points, will now face second-seeded Wingate in the semifinal round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Saturday at CVCC beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Sophomore guard Caroline Laughter (Hickory, N.C.), freshman guard Krystal Patton (Chilhowie, Va.) and freshman forward Alexis Katt (Euharlee, Ga.) all scored 11 points for the Bears, who ended the year with their fifth straight winning season.

Laughter added a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double while Patton hit three treys and finished with a career-high in points.

The Eagles, who beat the Bears on their home court for the second time this season, used a 23-3 run early in the second half to build a 22-point advantage (69-47) with 8:43 left then held on at the end to win.

Lenoir-Rhyne cut the margin to eight points at 75-67 with 33 seconds left on a lay-up by Laughter but the deficit was too great to overcome.

Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.) added a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds) off the bench for the Lady Eagles, who hit nine three-pointers in the contest.

The Bears also failed to advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time in three seasons.