Hickory, N.C. - Head coach Emry Tsitouris and the Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball team extended their win streak to eight on Wednesday, taking down Anderson 81-72 inside a packed Shuford Arena. 

The Bears, led by Aaliyah El's 19 points, tied a season high with a a 50.8% shooting clip from the field. This included a 65.2% shooting percentage in the second half. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 81, Anderson 72
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (13-4, 9-2 SAC), Anderson (7-10, 3-8 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena

STORY OF THE GAME:

• Anderson used a 9-0 run early in the opening quarter to take a 15-6 lead.
• The Bears finished the opening quarter on a 15-2 run to take a 21-17 lead after ten minutes. 
• After the Trojans tied it at 28-28 with 6:58 left in the second quarter, Trista Charles hit a layup to spark a 15-5 run to close the half with a 43-33 lead.
• Aaliyah El had 12 points in the first half while Ralee Bare had 11.
• Back to back jumpers from the Trojans' Kyla Cain cut the Bears lead to 51-46 with 4:25 left in the third quarter. 
• To the start the 4th, the Bears were only up a basket before Amiya Porter hit back-to-back threes to help the Bears extend their lead to 65-59.
• That would be the closest the Trojans would get as Lenoir-Rhyne hung on for the 81-72 victory.

STATS OF THE GAME:

• Amiya Porter had 12 of her season-high 17 points in that fourth quarter, including 4-4 from the free-throw line.
• Aaliyah El lead all scorers with 19 points, going 8-12 from the floor. She finished just board shy of a double-double.
• Ralee Bare was also 8-12 from the floor for 17 points and tied a career high with six steals.
• Abigail Brown was the fourth player in double figures for the Bears with 12.
• Lenoir-Rhyne had 29 points from the bench, compared to just seven from Anderson. 
• Lenoir-Rhyne was 32-63 (50.8%) from the field and 5-16 (31.3%) from three.
• Anderson was 30-69 (43.5%) from the field and 4-16 (25%) from three.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• These teams have split the season series the last two years. 
• The Bears move to 8-0 inside the Shu this season.
• The Bears remain in a four-way tie at the top of the standings as LR is 9-2 in the SAC and tied with Carson-Newman, Coker and Lincoln Memorial. 

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will stay home to host Lincoln Memorial in a huge SAC contest on Friday afternoon. The game was previous scheduled for Saturday but with winter weather coming in this weekend, the game has been pushed up a day. The Railsplitters are currently 14-2 after their 67-50 win over UVA-Wise tonight.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM from Shuford Arena.