Hickory, N.C.-- For the first time since 2014, Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball punched their ticket into the NCAA Tournament. The Bears were selected as the No. 4 seed in the Southeast regional which will be hosted by No. 1 seed Catawba. The Bears will tip-off against No. 5 seed Clayton State at 7:30 PM on Friday evening from Salisbury.
This will be the sixth NCAA tournament appearance for the Bears as LR started this postseason run by capturing their third SAC Tournament title this past weekend. LR opened the SAC Tournament defeating Tusculum on their home floor 80-56. The win was the biggest margin of victory for LR in a single SAC tournament game. After the victory, The Bears headed to Greenville, S.C. where they knocked off No. 1 seed Catawba 68-63 in the semifinals. LR then ended Anderson's cinderalla run by defeating the Trojans 63-59 in the title game.
Emily Harman was named the tournament MVP, as the junior lead the Bears in scoring in the final two games including a 18-point, 12-rebound double-double in the title game.
Hannah Stull and
Blaikley Crooks were named to the all-tournament team as the duo both averaged 12.3 points during the three games. Stull added 5.6 rebounds per contest as well for the Bears.
The Bears will meet Clayton State out of the Peach Belt Conference in the opening game of the regional tournament. The Lakers are 18-11 this season and are coached by Kaleen Coleman. Coleman is in her 9th year and will be making her 5th NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday. Coleman was also on staff as an assistant during the Lakers 2011 National Championship. Clayton State finished second in the conference in the regular season and fell in the semifinals of their conference tournament.
Clayton State will be one of the deepest teams the Bears have played this year as the Lakers have started thirteen different players during the season and no one averages more then 25.1 minutes per game. Coleman utilizes a deep rotation with 12-13 players per game. Audrey McElhaney leads the Lakers, averaging 11.4 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per contest in her 25 minutes of action. McElhaney is also 12th in DII on the offensive glass as the senior brings down 4.0 offensive boards per game.
These teams have not seen each other since the 2014-15 season but the two teams had eight common opponents this season as the Bears were 4-0 against the Peach Belt Conference and the Lakers were just 2-3 against the SAC. In all, LR was 8-3 and Clayton State was 3-9 against these common opponents.
Postseason games are usually won or lost at the free throw line and if that is the case on Friday night the Bears have the advantage on paper. LR enters the contest 10th in the nation, shooting 78.0% from the line while Clayton State comes in 230th making just 67.0% of their free throws. So far this postseason these numbers have held true as the Bears have drained 86.0% (43-50) from the line while the Lakers are under their season average at 64.5% (31-48).
Bears will be wearing their home white uniforms on Friday night while Clayton State will be in their road orange set as the Bears are the higher seed and will be the designate home team. Winner of this game will have a short turnaround as the second round will be played Saturday night at 7:30 PM against the winner of No. 1 Catawba/No. 8 UNC Pembroke.
This will be the third time the Bears have entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed. Ironically, the last time the Bears were the No. 4 seed was in 2013 in Morrow, GA, home of the Clayton State Lakers. The Bears fell to USC-Aiken in the first round as Clayton State defeated USC-Aiken in the second round before falling in the elite eight.
2022-23 season has been one to remember for the program, but Friday night the Bears are not ready to close the book but to start a new chapter as LR looks for their first NCAA Tournament win since 2009.
