Box Score Hickory, N.C.- The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball team saw its upset bid fall short as #21 Tusculum escaped with a 61-54 win. Ashley Woodroffe led the Bears with 12 points while Korbin Tipton (11) and Sydney Wilson (10) also reached double figures for LR who battled back from an early 14 point deficit but fell late to Tusculum 

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: #21 Tusculum 61, Lenoir-Rhyne 54 
Records: #21 Tusculum (11-1, 11-1 SAC) |  Lenoir-Rhyne (3-8, 3-8 SAC)
Location: Shuford Gym

STATS AND INFO:
-With Tusculum's win today, the Pioneers swept the season series for the 4th straight year. The Bears swept the series in 2016-17. 2015-16 was the last time the teams spilt the season series. 
-LR had only seven players dressed today. Addisen DeLucas, Tipton and Woodroffe each played all 40 minutes today. 
-All six Bears scored today and had between 6 and 12 points.

FIRST HALF:
-Turnovers were the story in the first half. Both teams started very sloppily with seven combined turnovers in the games first two minutes and seven seconds. The teams combined for 27 first half turnovers. 
-Tusculum was able to break open a double-digit lead in the first quarter thanks to eight points off LR turnovers and six second chance points. The Pioneers stretched their lead to 22-8 with 9:08 left in the half before the Bears went on a 19-8 run to end the quarter. Woodroffe had all eight of her first half points in the quarter.
-Both teams moved the ball around extremely well in the half. LR had assists on eight out of their 12 baskets while the Pioneers had nine assists in their 13 baskets.
-LR started 3-of-11 in the first quarter from the floor before going 9-for-14 in the second quarter. It's the 4th straight game the Bears have outscored their opponents in the second quarter. 

SECOND HALF:
-LR tied the score at 39 at the media timeout in the third quarter. Tipton hit two three-pointers in the quarter to help the Bears tie the game for the first time since 2-2. 
-After the Bears tied it at 39-39 both teams were cold from the field. Woodroffe's free-throws with :36 seconds left in the quarter gave the Bears their first lead at 41-39. 
-Both teams did not make a field goal in the last five minutes of the third quarter. 
-The Pioneers snapped a five-minute scoring drought by scoring the first five points of the 4th quarter and the Bears could not battle back The Pioneers extended their lead to as much as eight points in the quarter. 
-LR struggled from the free-throw line, shooting a season-low 57.1% from the line (8-14) including 4-8 in the second half. 
-20 of the Pioneers' 31 points in the second half came from within the paint. Tusculum outscored the Bears 36-20 in the paint on the afternoon. 

ABOUT THE BEARS:
-DeLucas had three more steals today and finished the week with 12 steals in three games. 
-Nakia Hooks led the team with 10 rebounds today. The sophomore is now averaging 8.3 rebounds per game for the Bears.
-After 11 turnovers in the first quarter, the Bears protected the ball better with seven turnovers the rest of the way but the 18 turnovers were the third most for the Bears on the season. 
-Wilson finished the game with 10 points on 5-10 shooting. Wilson was the only Bear to shoot 50% from the field as LR finished the game 20-53 (37.7%) from the floor on the afternoon. 

NOTABLE PIONEERS:
-Maddie Sutton finished the game with her 10th double-double of the year, which leads all of DII. Sutton finished with a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sutton also played all 40 minutes for the Pioneers. 
-Brianna Dixon had four of the seven blocks for the Pioneers. Seven blocks is the most the Bears have had against them all year.
-The Pioneers gave up 54 points to the Bears, which is exactly what their season average is. 

UP NEXT:  Bears will travel Coker for a 5:30 tip off on Wednesday.