Hickory, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball Team (16-7, 11-4) kept pace in the South Atlantic Conference race after downing Tusculum (13-10, 7-8), 64-59, Wednesday evening at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.

L-R junior forward Nneka Awuruonye (Charlotte, N.C.) finished with a career-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds as Lenoir-Rhyne remained one game behind Anderson (18-7, 12-3) in the conference standings.

Sophomore guard Jazmine Charles (Lexington, N.C.) added 20 points and hit three treys as the Bears avenged an earlier loss to the Pioneers.

Three players scored in double figures for Tusculum, including 12 points each from both Kendal Baxter (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Ashley Thurman (Nashville, Tenn.), despite the loss.

L-R opened up a 39-24 lead with 16:25 remaining in the second half before Tusculum rallied to take a 55-53 advantage on a lay-up by Breaira Barksdale (Baltimore, Md.) with 4:08 left.

However, a pair of free throws by Awuruonye broke a 55-55 tie at the 3:02 mark of the second half and the Bears held the lead the rest of the way.

Lenoir-Rhyne also held a 40-32 advantage on the boards and limited Tusculum to just 38 percent shooting (21-of-55)?from the floor?in winning its second straight game.

For Tusculum, Baxter also connected on four treys and now has 300 three-pointers for her career, second-best in South Atlantic Conference history.

In the next round of league games on Saturday, Lenoir-Rhyne plays Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn., beginning at 6:00 p.m. while Tusculum visits Mars Hill for a 2:00 p.m., contest.