HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – Kendall Toineeta made her final game in Shuford Gym count for the Lenoir-Rhyne University women.
TOINEETA
Toineeta, a senior guard from Cherokee, scored 22 points, had five assists, four steals and went 6-for-6 on free throws to lead the fourth-seeded Bears past No. 5 Newberry (S.C.) 69-51 on Wednesday night in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) basketball tournament.
LRU (17-12) advances to a semifinal on Saturday at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C., and will battle top-seeded Anderson, S.C. (27-2) at noon.
The championship game is Sunday at 1 p.m. and the winner earns the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Anderson — 20-0 in the SAC regular season — advanced by beating No. 8 Catawba 90-79 on Wednesday in Anderson, S.C.
Newberry finished 16-12.
The Bears had four players reach double digits with Madeline Hardy scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 rebounds (her fifth double-double of the year), Madi Suddreth adding 13 points and Karlie Bearden scoring 10.
LRU held the Wolves to 31.1 percent shooting with Meg Essex and Shelby Britten each scoring 11 points.
The Bears shot 41.5 percent and made all 10 of their free throws and held edges in points in the paint (22-16) and points via turnovers (19-9).
The victory was the first in an SAC quarterfinal for LRU since 2015 when the Bears upset No. 2 seed Wingate.
–– Reported by LRU Sports Information