GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Lenoir-Rhyne University beat Tusculum University 14-8 in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Tusculum's Lucy Brewer reached a milestone in the second quarter as she became the sixth player in program history to score 100 career goals, but the Pioneers (4-10, 2-6 SAC) never led after the Bears (4-10, 3-6 SAC) took a 4-0 lead after one quarter.
Chloe Christensen led the Bears with four goals and an assist, while Kirra Olson had three goals and an assist and Rylie McGhan added three goals. Jolan Morey finished with two goals and two assists for the Bears, who had a 34-15 shot advantage over the Pioneers.
Cassidy Bourne led the Pioneers with three goals and an assist, with two goals apiece from Liberty Jones and Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg in addition to Brewer's milestone goal.
Olson scored the first two goals of the match, followed by goals from McGhan and Anneleise Meyer which gave the Bears a 4-0 lead after one quarter.
Brewer got the Pioneers on the board with 11:05 left in the second quarter, followed by a goal from Jones less than three minutes later. The Bears would stretch their lead to 6-2 on goals from Christensen and Morey, and Bourne responded with 2:34 left in the quarter as the Pioneers trailed 6-3 at intermission.
Bourne cut the deficit to 6-4 less than two minutes into the third quarter, but the Bears scored four goals in five minutes to build a 10-4 lead with 7:27 left in the period. Jones scored her second of the day with 5:33 remaining, and the 10-5 Lenoir-Rhyne lead stood into the fourth.
Goals from McGhan and Christensen were answered by Carolin-Vandenberg twice in the fourth quarter, with Bourne closing out the scoring with 4:32 remaining.
Brewer led Tusculum with three ground balls along with four draw controls and two caused turnovers, while Olson, Christensen and Meyer each had five draw controls for the Bears. Olson and Makenna Filley shared the team lead with four ground balls, with Filley coming up with three caused turnovers.
Tusculum was 20-for-27 on clear attempts and Lenoir-Rhyne went 16-for-20, including all eight successfully in the second half. The Pioneers committed 25 turnovers and the Bears turned the ball over 15 times, with Lenoir-Rhyne having a 22-15 edge in ground balls.
Emily White finished with 15 saves in goal for the Pioneers and set the program single-season record with 145 saves, breaking the record of 138 saves set by Taylor Floyd in 2022. Sally Friesen collecting six saves for the Bears.
Tusculum is idle until Saturday, April 13 when the Pioneers visit Emory & Henry for their first-ever matchup with the Wasps (1-12, 0-7 SAC).
