by HICKORY, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Women’s Basketball Team defended home court on Wednesday night and took down the Coker Cobras, 73-61, in South Atlantic Conference play. Senior Kendall Toineeta (Eastern Band Cherokee) and freshman Madeline Hardy both scored 20-plus points, carrying the Bears to victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
• Only two Bears were in double digits in the scoring column, as Toineeta went off for a career-high in scoring with 27 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. Hardy was one-shy of tying her career-high with 22 points scored to go along with nine rebounds as she flirted with another double-double to add to her impressive freshman campaign.
• Lenoir-Rhyne won the game with points off turnovers, outscoring their opponent 23-12 in that category. They forced the Cobras into 15 turnovers. Karlie Bearden led the home team in rebounding with 10, but the Bears owned that category, outrebounding Coker 40-24.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• LR was nearly perfect from the free-throw line (29-of-32, 90.6 percent), shooting above 90.0 percent for the sixth time this season. Toineeta and Hardy combined to be a perfect 24-for-24 from the charity stripe.
• With the win, LR is now an even 6-6 at home this season.
• Tonight was the fourth 20-point game on the season for both Hardy and Toineeta. This is also the highest shooting percentage on the year for the senior from Cherokee, N.C. at 63.6 percent (7-of-11).
• The five steals snagged by Toineeta ties a season-high and puts her total at 60 for the season, putting her average at 2.5 takeaways per game.
