Lenoir-Rhyne Wins 2023 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, Downing Anderson 63-59

GREENVILLE, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The No. 3 Piedmont Division Lenoir-Rhyne Bears and the No. 4 Piedmont Division Anderson Trojans battled through all four quarters with the Bears outscoring the Trojans in the first and second half to secure a 63-59 win. The victory marks the third title in program history for the Bears since the 2009 victory over Tusculum. With the win, Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 24-7 on the year, while Anderson falls to 18-13.

It was a battle of the offenses in the first quarter of action as the Bears and Trojans went head-to-head. Lenoir-Rhyne junior Emily Harmon had 10 first quarter points including a three pointer to break the tie at 17 to put the Bears up for 20-17 with 35 seconds left in the first quarter. After watching the Trojans cut the lead to five in the second half, the Bears responded with a 6-0 run to close the third quarter while holding Anderson scoreless for the last 3:46 of the period. LR opened a 13-point lead in the 4th quarter but Anderson kept chipping away at the Bears lead. Five straight points from Anderson's Diamond McDowell cut the lead to 54-52 with 3:54 left. That was the closest Anderson got as Megan Landsiedel hit a corner three with 2:28 left to give the Bears a 59-54 lead. Harmon hit both free throws with four seconds left to give the Bears their third title in program history.

Leading the charge for the Bears was Harmon with 18 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Azariah Fields with 14 points and nine rebounds and Hannah Stull with 13 points. Anderson's Diamond McDowell netted double-figures with a game-high 20 points and 24 rebounds while Jalyn Spurlin contributed 10 points and four assists. 

Harmon was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, with teammates Hannah Stull and Blaikley Crooks earning All-Tournament honors as well. The full All-Tournament team is listed below.

2023 SAC Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team

Wingate- Bryanna Troutman

Catawba- Sara McIntosh

Anderson- Diamond McDowell

Anderson- Jalyn Spurlin

Lenoir-Rhyne- Hannah Stull

Lenoir-Rhyne- Blaikley Crooks

Lenoir-Rhyne- Emily Harmon (MVP)

With the win, Lenoir-Rhyne earns the SAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship. The full bracket will be released tonight (March 5) at 10:30 p.m. live on NCAA.com.

- #MakeSACYours -