HARROGATE, TN - The Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division ll Tournament with an 83-74 victory against Augusta.
Amiya Porter and
Aaliyah El combined for over half of the Bears points while
Trista Charles scored a season-high 19 points and added three rebounds.
The Bears will face-off against #3 Coker in the second round of the tournament tomorrow evening at 5:00 PM.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #18 Lenoir-Rhyne 83, Augusta 74
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (25-5), Augusta (21-10)
Location: Harrogate, Tenn. | Frank B. Tex Turner Arena
STORY OF THE GAME:
- The Jaguars held the Bears to just three made field goals in the first quarter and led 15-10 after one.
- Tatum Bowen and Amiya Porter hit back-to-back threes to give the Bears their first lead, 18-15, with eight minutes left in the half.
- Lenoir-Rhyne closed out the first half with three straight three-pointers. They shot 12-for-16 from the field in the frame and led 42-27 at the break.
- The Jaguars cut the lead to single digits but Lenoir-Rhyne stood their ground and led 61-49 after three.
- An Amiya Porter triple pushed the Bears lead back to double-figures with under four minutes left.
- The Bears shot over 47% from the field in the second half to hold on to the 83-74 win.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Amiya Porter (24), Aaliyah El (22), and Trista Charles (19) were the only Bears to hit double-figures today.
- Five Bears collected four or more rebounds while Porter led the team with three assists.
- Lenoir-Rhyne shot 25-for-51 (49.0%) from the field and 12-for-24 (50.0%) from beyond the arc.
- The Jaguars shot 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field and 5-for-20 (25.0%) from beyond the arc.
- Augusta had a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint while LR outscored the Jaguars 35-14 from their bench.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- This is the first time Lenoir-Rhyne has advanced to the second round of the tournament since their 69-58 win against Anderson in 2009.
- Lenoir-Rhyne won their first game against Augusta since 1998 and evened the all-time series at 3-3.
- Amiya Porter has generated 20 or more points in two of her last three games while also adding nine assists and seven steals.
- The Bears are 11-0 when making more than 10 three-pointers in a game.
- This was Aaliyah El's 12th game of the year scoring 20 or more points.
- The Southeast Regional semi-finals feature all four SAC schools, Lenoir-Rhyne, Coker, Lincoln Memorial, and Carson-Newman.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will look to advance to the Southeast Regional Championship game for the first time in program history tomorrow when they face off against the #3 Coker in the round of 32. The Cobras are coming off a dominant 83-54 win against #6 seeded Francis Marion. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 PM ET from Harrogate, Tenn.