GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Suzy Smith scored five goals to lead Lenoir-Rhyne University to a 13-7 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Jolan Morey had a goal and six assists and Chloe Christensen and Ellie Campbell each scored twice for the Bears (4-4, 2-0 SAC), who led 6-0 after one quarter and outshot the Pioneers 28-19 in the match.
Kylie Marek led the Pioneers (3-6, 0-3 SAC) with three goals and an assist, Lucy Brewer scored twice and Tia Tuininga had a goal and an assist for Tusculum, which had a 16-8 edge in draw controls but committed 24 turnovers. Emily Youngblood also scored for the Pioneers, who were 15-for-18 on clears while Lenoir-Rhyne was just 19-for-26 overall including 7-for-14 in the second half.
Morey assisted on five of the Bears' eight first-half goals before scored her own midway through the third quarter to give Lenoir-Rhyne a 10-2 lead. From there, the Pioneers outscored the Bears 5-3 over the final 22 minutes, pulling as close as five on a goal from Tuininga with 2:21 left.
Smith opened the scoring 1:10 into the first quarter, and goals from Campbell and Christensen stretched the Bears' lead to 3-0 with 8:59 left in the first period. Smith and Christensen added their second goals of the quarter and Makenna Filley scored with 1:01 left to extend the Lenoir-Rhyne advantage to 6-0 after one.
Tusculum got on the board 49 seconds into the second quarter on a goal from Brewer, but Tess Grimley and Campbell scored for the Bears as Lenoir-Rhyne carried an 8-1 lead into halftime. The Bears outshot the Pioneers 17-6 in the first half and forced the Pioneers into 12 turnovers.
Smith's third goal of the day gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 9-1 lead with 10:19 left in the third quarter, before Marek scored twice sandwiched around Morey's goal as the Pioneers trailed 10-3 with 4:52 left in the third. Smith netted her fourth of the afternoon with 3:12 remaining in the period, but Youngblood and Brewer scored exactly a minute apart to bring the Pioneers within 11-5 heading to the fourth.
Another goal from Smith made it 12-5 Bears with 12:52 to play, but Marek and Tuininga scored in the final five minutes as Tusculum trailed 12-7 with 2:21 to go. Emilee Foxall would close out the scoring for the Bears with 54 seconds left to set the final.
Tuininga led the Pioneers with seven draw controls and had two caused turnovers, while Brewer had four draw controls and Youngblood added three along with two ground balls. For Lenoir-Rhyne, Foxall had four draw controls and Cassie Lafler had five ground balls along with three caused turnovers. Rianna Keough also had five ground balls for the Bears, while Liz Black had three caused turnovers.
Taylor Floyd finished with six saves in goal for the Pioneers over the first three quarters, while Caroline Monroe had one save in the fourth period. Teanna Sieben played the entire match in goal for the Bears and had 10 saves in the victory.
Tusculum will return to action at home on Saturday, March 26 against Limestone at Pioneer Field, beginning at 1 p.m. The Saints, ranked 22nd in this week's IWLCA Division II poll, defeated Lincoln Memorial 16-8 on Saturday for their third straight win to improve to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
