The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball Team (5-2, 1-0) opened South Atlantic Conference competition on Saturday afternoon with a 72-59 victory over Carson-Newman (6-2, 1-1) at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium. L-R junior guard Alexis

Katt (Euharlee, Ga.) finished with a team-high 13 points while junior forward Kierra Phillips (Gaffney, S.C.) added 12 points to lead the Bears to the victory.
Carson-Newman, which saw its six-game winning streak snapped, was led by Tatum Burstrom's (Maryville, Tenn.) game-high 16 points despite the loss. Burstrom connected on four three-pointers while Lashawnda Peacher (Springfield, Tenn.) added 13 points off the bench in the setback.
Lenoir-Rhyne held a 36-27 advantage at the break and pushed its margin to 14 points at 44-30 with 16:59 remaining on a lay-up by Phillips. Carson-Newman slowly came back and cut the margin to 59-55 on a free throw by Burstrom at the 3:46 mark of the second half but Lenoir-Rhyne responded with an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach.
L-R senior guard Caroline Laughter (Hickory, N.C.), who finished with seven points, six rebounds and five assists, capped off the run with a free throw.
The Bears limited the Eagles to just 30 percent (18-of-60) shooting for the contest while improving to 2-0 at home this year. Lenoir-Rhyne faces Winston-Salem State in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Monday night at 6:00 p.m., in its next contest. Carson-Newman, meanwhile, plays Virginia Intermont on Sunday, December 30, at home beginning at 6:00 p.m., at the Hold Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tenn.

L-R 72, CARSON-NEWMAN 59

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Carson-Newman.................   27   32  -   59
Lenoir-Rhyne..................   36   36  -   72

CARSON-NEWMAN: BROWN 9 (7 REBOUNDS), McLAUGHLIN 6 (7 REBOUNDS, 5 ASSISTS), BURSTROM 16, MOODY 7, PEACHER 13 (7 REBOUNDS), MARKUS 5, COFFEIT 3. FG: 18-60, 3FG: 5-18, FT: 18-28. 43 REBOUNDS, 9 ASSISTS, 22 TURNOVERS.
THREE-POINTERS: BURSTROM 4, MARKUS.

L-R: KATT 13, HIATT 5 (4 ASSISTS), CHARLES 9, PHILLIPS 12, LAUGHTER 7 (6 REBOUNDS, 5 ASSISTS), BONGIORNO 5, MITCHELL 7, PATTON 6, AWURUONYE 2, BRINKLEY 6. FG: 24-55, 3FG: 3-15, FT: 21-31. 41 REBOUNDS, 16 ASSISTS, 22 TURNOVERS.
THREE-POINTERS: CHARLES, HIATT, BONGIORNO.

Lenoir-Rhyne Cruises To Victory Over Barber-Scotia

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team (7-1) made it three wins in a row with a 78-63 victory over Barber-Scotia (2-13) Saturday afternoon in a non-conference game at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium. L-R junior center Matt Kunz (Kernersville, N.C.) and sophomore guard Denzel Dillingham (Hickory, N.C.) both scored a team-high 14 points as the Bears continued their best start in 21 years.
Lenoir-Rhyne junior forward Mark Terrell (Keswick, Va.) added 10 points as the Bears led by as many as 20 points in the victory. Barber-Scotia's Lee Sweeney (Greensboro, N.C.) came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points and Jvonnie Sweeney (Greensboro, N.C.) added 13 points on six-of-seven shooting in the loss.
L-R jumped out to a 34-18 lead with 6:44 left before intermission but Barber-Scotia rallied to cut the margin to four points at 42-38 just 48 seconds into the second half thanks to lay-up by Jvonnie Sweeney.
However, the Bears responded with 10 consecutive points over the next 10 minutes of action capped off by a field goal from Kunz and their lead wouldn't fall under double digits the rest of the way.
Lenoir-Rhyne held a 41-32 advantage on the boards and forced Barber-Scotia into 22 turnovers in the victory. The two schools were playing for the first time in nine years.
L-R next competes in the Bearcat Holiday Classic in Greenwood, S.C., beginning on Friday, December 28, against Georgia College at 5:30 p.m. Lenoir-Rhyne then takes on the host school, Lander, on Saturday, December 29, at 3:30 p.m.

L-R 78, BARBER-SCOTIA 63

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Barber-Scotia.................   33   30  -   63
Lenoir-Rhyne..................   41   37  -   78

BARBER-SCOTIA: ROBERTS 2, NEWKIRK 9 (4 ASSISTS), McLENDON 4 (4 ASSISTS), J. SWEENEY 13 (5 REBOUNDS), SCOTT 8, PARSON 3, L. SWEENY 21, WILSON 3. FG: 24-52, 3FG: 8-18, FT: 7-13. 32 REBOUNDS, 13 ASSISTS, 22 TURNOVERS.
THREE-POINTERS: L. SWEENEY 3, SCOTT 2, NEWKIRK, PARSON, WILSON.

L-R: PERRY 7 (6 REBOUNDS, 4 ASSISTS), McCLURE 9, DILLINGHAM 14 (4 ASSISTS), TERRELL 10, KUNZ 14 (9 REBOUNDS, 4 ASSISTS), SHUFORD 5, NOYES 4, BROWN 4, BEVERLY 3, JONES 4, CROUCH 4. FG: 29-64, 3FG: 4-16, FT: 16-25. 41 REBOUNDS, 21 ASSISTS, 14 TURNOVERS.
THREE-POINTERS: DILLINGHAM 2, PERRY, McCLURE.

Photo Courtesy: Caroline Laughter, L-R Athletics