CONWAY, Ark. - The Hendrix College women's basketball relied heavily on lockdown defense and received some timely scoring from senior Kati Broberg and junior Caitlin Kriesel-Bigler to earn a narrow 56-54 victory over Southern Athletic Association rival Rhodes College on Saturday in Conway.

The win marks the first time in eight games that the Warriors have defeated the Lynx. Their last win over their conference rival came in 2011.No member of the current Hendrix team had defeated Rhodes until Saturday's win, which made the victory that much sweeter for Broberg, the team's lone senior. The guard scored eight points in the game, with all of them coming in a crucial stretch of the second half. Her final points, a three-pointer with 7:48 remaining gave Hendrix a 41-39 lead. The home team never trailed after that.

Kriesel-Bigler finished with 14 points and eight assists for the Warriors while Anna King added 13 points. Sara Dyslin provided a defensive presence in the paint, grabbing 14 rebounds, swiping two steals and swatting three shots away. Katy Gallien finished with a solid all-around effort, scoring six points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing off four assists. The Hendrix defense limited the Lynx to just 37.1% shooting from the floor, and forced 15 turnovers. The Warriors limited the Lynx to just 54 points, tying Rhodes' lowest offensive output of the season.

Rhodes was led by Sarah Johnson, who scored 21 points and added five assists and five steals. Bailey Kramer chipped in with 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. 

The Warriors got off to a slow start, falling behind 6-0 in the early going as Rhodes began the game 3-for-3 from the floor. From that point the Hendrix defense became extremely stingy, allowing Rhodes just six made field goals in the final 18:45 of the first half. The Orange and Black capitalized on their defense, leveling the score at 6-6 before eventually taking the lead on an Anna King three-pointer. The first half included six lead changes and five ties, and ended in a 22-22 deadlock.

In the second half, the two teams battled back and forth, trading baskets and the lead until Broberg's stretch of clutch shooting. The senior put the team ahead 41-39 with 7:48 left in the game and the rest of the Warriors followed her lead. Kriesel-Bigler nailed a pull-up three and King finished off a crafty left-handed shot in the lane to extend the Hendrix lead to 50-43 with 3:26 remaining.

Rhodes tried to claw back into the game and cut the deficit to one point on a Johnson jumper with 15 seconds left. After Kriesel-Bigler hit one of two free throws, the Lynx had a chance to tie on their final possession. Dy'Nelle Todman put up a potential game-tying layup, but her attempt was erased by Dyslin who swatted the ball out of bounds as time expired, giving the Warriors the 56-54 win. 

Hendrix improves to 7-8 on the season and levels their SAA record at 2-2. The squad will return to action on Friday, January 23rd when they take on SAA foe Sewanee at 6 p.m.