BLUFFTON, S.C. - The Sand Sharks made things interesting late, but the Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball team held on for a 71-67 road victory over USC Beaufort.
Lenoir-Rhyne led 64-47 after three and held on despite being outscored 20-7 in the fourth by a gritty Sand Shark squad.
Aaliyah El continues to prove why she is one of the best players in the SAC, finishing with 28 points and three steals.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 71, USC Beaufort 67
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne 3-2, USC Beaufort 2-3
Location: The Cove | Bluffton, S.C.
STORY OF THE GAME:
- A back-and-forth battle throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter, Tatum Bowen's late three gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 21-17 lead after one.
- Lenoir-Rhyne controlled the second quarter, closing on a 13-5 run to take a 45-31 lead at the break.
- Aaliyah El scored eight points in the quarter, six coming off free throws.
- The Bears continued to push in the third, as Elyseia Brown and Jodi King each made big buckets to keep the Sand Sharks at bay.
- USC Beaufort tightened up their defense in the fourth, holding Lenoir-Rhyne to just 1-11 from the field and 0-6 from three.
- Despite shooting just 3-18 from the field in the final frame, USC Beaufort hit 13 of their 22 free throws make the game close.
- The Sand Sharks made it a one possession game late but Bowen hit two consecutive free throws to seal the win.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Aaliyah El led the Bears with 28 points on 8-14 from the field and 12-13 from the free throw line.
- Abigail Brown was the only other Bear in double figures (10).
- Sophomore Lauren Arnold led everyone with 11 boards.
- Lenoir-Rhyne was 24-67 (35.8%) from the field and 4-25 (16%) from three.
- USC Beaufort was 18-63 (28.6%) from the field and 3-16 (19.8%) from three.
- Free throws were the difference in this one, as Lenoir-Rhyne was 19-22 (86.4%) while USC Beaufort was 28-45 (62.2%).
- Both teams turned it over 19 times.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Lenoir-Rhyne leads the SAC in free throw percentage (81.4%).
- These teams had never met prior to today as the Sand Sharks are in their second full year of NCAA DII membership.
- Abigail Brown is second in the SAC with 3.2 blocks/game.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will open conference play on Friday when they travel to Lincoln Memorial to take on the Railsplitters. LMU is 4-0 recent wins over #14 North Georgia and Clayton State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. from Harrogate, Tennessee.