MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Rhodes women's lacrosse team survived, and advanced in the first round of the Southern Athletic Association tournament, downing Hendrix College, 18-8.
 
The Lynx move to an impressive 12-1 in only their second year as a program, while the Warriors finish their 2015 campaign with a mark of 4-10.
 
Head coach Brice Queener's squad opened play with a Kendall Cunningham goal for the early 1-0 lead. Hendrix netted an answer less than a minute later to knot the contest at 1-1.
 
Cunningham proved unstoppable, as she worked in two back-to-back goals to regain the lead and earn an early hat-trick, her 12th of the season. The Warriors were not ready to throw in the towel, as they found the back of the cage at the 17:53 mark.
 
The Lynx offense sparked, scoring five successive goals, with Morgan Fuller working in a shot with 9:54 to play in the half. Cunningham added three more goals, with Maggie Rippeto working into the scoring column for the 8-2 lead with three minutes to play.
 
Hendrix netted a pair of goals to close the half, with an Ashley Dill score in between, to make the count 9-4 at the break.
 
Out of the half, it was Hendrix who drew first, scoring the opening goal to pull within four at 9-5. Rhodes offense took control, and went on a five goal scoring streak. Oliva Holmes found the back of the net for the 10th Lynx score, with Cunningham, Rippeto and Fuller each adding a goal apiece. Erin Gleeson netted an unassisted score at the 17:01 mark for the 14-5 Lynx lead.
 
The Warriors continued to pester the Lynx, sneaking in a pair of goals to work the count to 14-7. Rhodes answered with a goal of their own from Rippeto, who picked up her eighth hat-trick of the season and three straight goals from Dill. Hendrix worked in one more shot before time expired to make the final count, 18-8 in favor of the Lynx.
 
Rhodes outmatched their opponents in several categories, including shots (36-17), draw controls (16-11), and ground balls (11-10).
 
Sarah Daniels stood tall in the goal for the Lynx for all 60 minutes of play, snagging seven saves in her 12th win of the season.
 
Rhodes will be back in action on April 25 when they head to Sewanee for the Semi-Final round of the SAA Tournament, where they will take on the No. 3 seed Centre College, who defeated No. 6 Birmingham Southern College 19-10 on Saturday.