Harry Davis
Staff Writer
On Friday, January 26, the Sewanee Women’s Basketball team defeated the Rhodes College Lynx at home 72-64.
Since the winter break, the Tigers have been 3-5, dropping close games against Birmingham Southern and Hendrix. On Friday, January 19, the Tigers lost at Rhodes 83-62 in a game where Rhodes shot 52.5 percent from the field and made it to the free throw line 21 times to Sewanee’s nine.
In a game that was much closer than it looked, the Tigers were down three points at the beginning of the fourth quarter. However, the Tigers looked to finish the game decisively at home against the Lynx.
Rhodes came in as a strong team with a record of 12 wins and six losses. At home, Rhodes has been a dominant team with nine wins and one loss. However, in away games the Lynx currently total five wins and five losses, and The Tigers had the home field advantage on January 26.
The Tigers started the game quickly and brought the score to eight to one with less than four minutes played in the game. The Lynx, however, fought back to lead by two, 15-13, by the end of the quarter. Both teams traded baskets in the second quarter before two late three-pointers by Katie Roth (C’19), which pushed Sewanee ahead and made the halftime score 32-24.
The third quarter was a back and forth battle. Both teams answered the other team’s baskets almost immediately. The Lynx crawled back in this quarter ever so slightly to close Sewanee’s lead to five points, 46-41.
For the fourth quarter, in the Tigers’ last game against Rhodes for the season, the Tigers were down three points before the Lynx piled on 31 points to Sewanee’s 13 in the fourth. Both teams traded baskets to make the score 58-53 Sewanee with less than five minutes to play in the half.
Sewanee sealed the game late with fantastic free throw shooting. With less than a minute to play, and down eight, Rhodes called a timeout and decided they must foul to have any chance to win the game. Rhodes then fouled three times to keep any hope alive for them, but Bella Taylor (C’19), Allison Hitchcock (C’20), and Sue Kim (C’19) made all their free throws to end the game 72-64.
Overall, the game was a great team effort by the Tigers with great composure to close the game in the fourth quarter. Sewanee had four players score in the double digits, led by Kim with 19 points.
Sewanee next plays during a two-game road trip, playing at Millsaps on Friday, February 2 and at Birmingham Southern on Sunday, February 4. Their next home game takes place against Oglethorpe on February 9.