Hickory, N.C. - Brandi Hudson and Emily Harman combined for 43 points, including the last 14 for the Bears down the stretch to help LR hold on to beat Lincoln Memorial 79-72 in a pivotal SAC conference matchup inside the Shu. With the win, the Bears remain in ninth place and one game out of 6th place with two games left in hopes to qualify for next week's SAC Conference Tournament. 

GAME INFORMATION:
Final:  Lenoir-Rhyne 79, Lincoln Memorial 72
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (10-14, 9-13 SAC) , Lincoln Memorial (10-15, 8-14 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Gym

STATS AND INFO:

• With the win the Bears can now finish .500 or better at home for the fourth straight season with a win on Wednesday. 
• This was LR's sixth straight win against the Railsplitters.
• With the win, the Bears remain in 9th place in the SAC, one game behind Tusculum, UVA-Wise and Newberry for 6th with two games to play. 
• The Bears will finish at home vs Queens on Wednesday, and then will travel to Newberry in their fight to make the SAC conference tournament as the top 8 seeds qualify. 
• Today's game was delayed 65 minutes due to travel issues for Lincoln Memorial. 

FIRST HALF:

• After the Bears opened a 11-3 run, the Railsplitters went on a 9-0 run to take their first lead of the day. 
• Hudson found Blaikely Crooks for a three to end the first quarter to gave the Bears a four-point lead after the first ten minutes.
• After Lincoln Memorial scored the first basket of the second quarter, the rest of the quarter stayed within one possession as the Bears took a three-point lead into halftime.
• Both teams were on fire from long range. The Bears made 6-12 from three and Lincoln Memorial was 5-9.
• Crooks lead the Bears with 10 points in the first half and Lauren Flowers had 8 for the Railsplitters. 

SECOND HALF:

• LR led throughout the third quarter with a six-point lead being their biggest. However, the Bears only had a two-point lead heading into the final quarter.
• After free throws from Mikayla Kuehne, the Railsplitters took their first lead of the second half at 66-65.
• After the teams went back and forth, the Bears had a 71-70 lead when Hudson took over and scored six straight points, including a huge steal and layup to stretch the lead to 77-72 as LR held on for the win. 
• Harman and Hudson helped the Bears go on a 14-6 run to close the game. The duo scored all 14 of the Bears points during the run.

ABOUT THE BEARS:

• Harman just missed a double-double, finishing with 22 points and 9 rebounds. 18 of Harman's 22 points came in the second half.
• Hudson finished with 21 points and 4 assists. This is her third straight game scoring 21 points, and her 18th straight game in double figures. 
• Crooks had a career high 14 points as the sophomore has hit double digits for the second straight game. 

NOTABLE RAILSPLITTERS:

• Flowers had a double-double as the guard had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
• Lindsay Proffitt had 18 points and five rebounds.
• Kuehne and Irelynn Davisson had 11 points each. 

UP NEXT:  LR's home finale will be Wednesday night against Queens. Tip-off is at 5:30 P.M.