JACKSON- The Millsaps Majors held the 21st/24th ranked Rhodes Lynx to 26 percent shooting and upset the defending conference tournament champions 58-56 on Friday night.
In front of a spirited Major contingent, Millsaps placed two players in double figures in Velvet Johnson and Kala-Jewel Freeman, who headlined a balanced effort across the board.
Velvet Johnson scored five of her team-high 15 points in the opening two minutes as the Majors grabbed an early 9-4 lead. The Majors would hold the Lynx without a field goal for six minutes, building the lead to 18-7 with eight minutes to go in the opening half.
Symone Daniels got hot in the later stages of the half for the Lynx, going on a 7-0 run by herself en route to 20 first-half points. Her three-point play with 3:30 remaining gave Rhodes their first lead since 2-0 at 21-19. Daniels would pour in six more points before the break and a pair of Kim Klunk jumpers would send the teams into the locker rooms with the Lynx up 27-23.
Kala-Jewel Freeman and Johnson got the Majors off to a terrific start to the second half. Johnson drained a triple and Freeman converted a three-point play as the Majors quickly erased the halftime deficit, taking a 35-29 lead with 14 minutes left. A Kelli Randle three grew the lead to 11 at 40-29, forcing a Lynx timeout.
The teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes, forcing another Lynx timeout as they tried to grab momentum away from the Majors. Freeman kept the Lynx at bay, scoring six straight points for the Majors over a three minute span, keeping the lead at double digits at 51-41 as the time ticked away. Senior guard Lauren Avant kept getting to the line for the Lynx, keeping them in the game. She sunk six straight free throws over a two minute span as the Majors lead shrunk to 55-49 with 35 seconds to go.
Avant would drain a three off a Majors' turnover to cut the lead to three with 28 seconds left. However, Samantha Perez and Johnson would sink free throws and Millsaps fended off the hard-charging Lynx.
The win sends the Majors to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in conference. Rhodes dropped to 12-3 and picked up their first SAA loss and are now 4-1. The Majors take Saturday off as they prepare for the Hendrix Warriors on Sunday for a 1pm home tip-off.
A few notes from the game:
Rhodes came into the game ranked 21st by d3hoops.com and 24th by the WBCA...This marks the Lynx first loss with guard Lauren Avant in the lineup...Rhodes owned big advantages in points off turnovers (21-4) and second-chance points (23-6)...The Majors dished out 16 assists led by Velvet Johnson's 8 and Sam Perez's 6...Avant and Daniels each recorded double-doubles for Rhodes...Millsaps held Rhodes to 4 of 35 (11%) from three-point range.
In case you missed it, highlights from the Rhodes game
