Lenoir-Rhyne Rallies to Defeat Women's Basketball

MARS HILL, N.C.- Morgan Cooper's old-fashioned three-point play with 46 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winning shot as Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Mars Hill 72-68 in Stanford Arena. Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 6-10 overall and 5-7 in the South Atlantic Conference while Mars Hill falls to 6-11 and 4-8 in the league.

Mars Hill had four starters in double figures, led by Camille Glymph with 28 points. Paige Chavis and Kelsey Espinosa each scored 13 points, with Cadence Wilmoth with 12. Espinosa and Wilmoth each pulled down four rebounds.

Lenoir-Rhyne was led by Jazmine Charles with 21 points and Cooper with 20. All of Cooper's 20 points came in the second half. Brooke Robinson scored 14 points, followed by Jeni Gust with 13. Robinson and Cooper led the visitors with seven rebounds while Gust had four steals.

Lenoir-Rhyne outrebounded Mars Hill 35-20, with a 20-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Mars Hill outshot the Bears 52.2 percent to 42.6 percent. The Lions were perfect from the free throw line, sinking all 15 attempts.

After Wilmoth gave the Lions a 68-67 lead thanks to a pair of free throws with 1:05 to play, Cooper was fouled while attempting a layup, which went in to give the Bears a one point advantage. Cooper sank the free throw for a 70-68 lead. On the ensuing Mars Hill possession, the Lions were called for an offensive foul and Charles sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory.

The tightly contested game featured 10 ties and 15 lead changes with neither team enjoying more than a seen point lead. Neither team led by more than five points in the first 10 minutes of the game before a Glymph 3-pointer gave Mars Hill a 28-22 lead with 6:20 to play in the first half. Lenoir-Rhyne went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 28 on a Marie Ritchie jumper with 2:32 left. The teams traded baskets before a Charles layup gave the Bears a 32-30 halftime lead.

Lenoir-Rhyne extended their lead to seven, 39-32, before the Lions retook the lead (42-41) following a Glymph jumper with just over 16 minutes to play. Trailing by one with 10:19 to play, Wilmoth sank a pair of free throws as the Lions went on an 8-0 run for a 58-51 lead. Mars Hill led by seven (60-53) with 7:25 remaining before the Bears evened the contest at 60 on a Gust 3-pointer. Lenoir-Rhyne led by three, 67-64, with 1:47 to play before the Lions pulled to within a point on a pair of Glymph free throws with 1:25 left.

Mars Hill begins a three game road swing on Wednesday, visiting Tusculum for a 6 p.m. start.