Hickory, N.C. - Aaliyah El is now a 1000 point collegiate scorer, doing so in just 68 career games at both Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne. The junior from Charlotte scored 22 points today to lead the Bears to a big 98-69 win over Wingate. 

For her career El is averaging 14.7 ppg on 46% shooting from the field. This season alone she has scored 359 points on an average of 18 per game.

Also playing well in the win was Elyseia Brown, who hit five three en route to an 18 point performance. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #25 Lenoir-Rhyne 98, Wingate 69
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (17-4, 13-2 SAC), Wingate (14-7, 9-6 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena

STORY OF THE GAME:

• It game started out back and forth as LR held a 12-10 lead before a 7-0 run extended their lead to 19-10.
• Madilyn Winterton was a force on the offensive glass, finishing with five offense boards in the first half.
• The Bears then went on a 14-0 run in the second quarter to expand the lead to 51-31 at the break.
• Lenoir-Rhyne had nine different scorers in the first half, led by a dozen from Aaliyah El. 
• Both teams shot 50% from the floor in the third quarter as LR opened a 29 point lead in the quarter.
• Lauren Arnold made a layup with 38 second left to bring the Bears just a bucket from their fifth 100 point game of the year.

STATS OF THE GAME:

• Aaliyah El scored her 22 points on an efficient 10-15 from the field.
• Elyseia Brown (18) and Abigail Brown (15) joined El in double figures. 
• 11 different players had rebounds for the Bears, led by seven from Winterton. 
• The Bears had 17 steals tonight, one off their season high of 18. Amiya Porter, El and Elyseia Brown had three steals each. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• 98 points scored tonight is the most points LR has scored against Wingate in their 84 game history against each other. 
• Abigail Brown had two more blocks tonight and is at top of the SAC leaderboard with 45 blocks. 
• Also on top of the SAc is Amiya Porter who leads the conference with 83 assists. 
• With Carson-Newman losing tonight at UVA-Wise, LR is in solo possession of first place of the SAC with a 13-2 record.
• Lenoir-Rhyne's win streak was extended to 12 today. It is the fifth longest win streak in the nation, coming in behind Grand Valley State (33), Minnesota state (22), Colorado Mesa (19), and Texas Woman's University (17). 

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will be looking to avenge their most recent loss as UVA-Wise comes to the Shu on Saturday. The Cavs are coming off a huge win against Carson-Newman tonight as the defeated the Eagles 83-70 to move to 18-5 on the season and 11-4 in the SAC. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM from Shuford.