CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team welcomed the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears to Curry Arena with just one day to rest after giving top-10 ranked Lincoln Memorial University a run for their money. Queens would fall short of victory over the Bears, losing 56-51 in the South Atlantic Conference game. The loss brings the Royals' overall record to 3-11, while they move to 3-6 in league play. LR improves to 9-6 on the season and 5-4 in the SAC.
 
Oliverio led the way again for Queens, scoring 14 points on 50-percent shooting. The senior guard also pulled down five rebounds and totaled two steals. Cheyenne Logan added 10 points and seven rebounds, while both Maggie Stewart and Mendy McNeese chipped in with eight points apiece. Stewart also led the Royals with five assists.
 
The Royals held a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter after shooting an impressive 58.3-percent from the floor on 7-of-12 shooting. After trailing by one early in the game, a layup from Oliverio put the Royals ahead 4-3 with 8:23 to play. They never trailed again in the period after leading by as much as five. Stewart and Logan led the way with six and five points, respectively.
 
The Bears came out of the break knocking down a pair of threes to take a 20-18 lead at 7:17. Another bucket would put them ahead four, 22-18, before Queens' Stewart connected on a lay-in off the glass to spark a 10-2 run that put the home team on top, 28-24. The Royals would go on to take a 30-25 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
In the third, a three-pointer from Oliverio gave the Royals a 33-25 lead with 8:10 to play, but an 18-5 run by the Bears would put them on top, 38-43, just around the two minute mark of the period. At the end of the quarter, LR held a 44-40 advantage over Queens after holding the home team scoreless for about a four minute stretch during their run.
 
Hailey Riffe got the Royals' offense going in the fourth with a three-pointer to cut the Bears' lead down to one, 44-43, at the 8:40 mark. However, LR responded with a 9-2 spurt to see their largest lead of the night, 53-45, with 2:19 to play. A pair of threes from Sarah Henson and McNeese cut Queens' deficit to just two, 53-51, with 27 seconds to play, but a technical foul would send LR's Kendall Toineeta to the charity stripe where she extended her team's lead back out to four, 55-51. Toineeta then knocked down another from the foul line, making it a five-point game before the final horn sounded.
 
The Royals shot 42.6-percent from the floor this evening compared to LR's 41.9-percent clip. Queens also outscored the Bears 20-14 in the paint.
 
Madi Suddreth led LR with 24 points, while Toineeta finished with 11 points. Chelsey Romero recorded nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Royals will be on the road for their next competition, traveling to Tusculum College on Saturday, January 14. The Pioneers were able to sweep Queens in the two-game series last season. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.