Led by 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting by Tristan McClellan, Bryan College defeated Siena Heights 72-68 in the opening round Wednesday of the NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. The 14th-ranked Lions (29-2) are seeded fourth in their eight-team bracket and will face top seed Marian at 11:15 a.m. Friday. Bryan led fifth seed Siena Heights (27-6) 32-25 at halftime but was outscored 26-10 in the third quarter and rallied to win with a 30-17 fourth. Destiny Kassner scored 13 points and Shayla Ludy and Kaitlynn Hennessee added 12 each for the Lions, Ludy with 12 rebounds and three steals. They survived 25 turnovers in improving to 2-8 in nine NAIA national appearances; the other win was in 2006.
Golf
* Dalton State senior and Ringgold resident Ben Rebne has the NAIA's best 2019-20 scoring average according to Golfstat, 70.13, and his seventh college tournament win got him selected the Southern States Athletic Conference golfer of the week for the sixth time - the third this season. Rebne won the loaded Sand Shark Invitational in South Carolina by three strokes with a 7-under-par 209 (72-68-69). Both Dalton State teams rose from to sixth to fifth in the NAIA rankings last week.
* Lee University's men's golf team, ranked 11th in NCAA Division II, finished sixth at 875 Tuesday in the Southeastern Collegiate at Valdosta, Georgia, and the teams ahead of the Flames were Nos. 2, 8, 10, 1 and 15. Lee freshman Beck Burnette followed a Sunday 78 with two 69s and tied for 11th individually. Junior Scott Odell tied for 18th at 218, and Connor Pollman and Evan Spence shot 221 and 224.
* Lee's 16th-ranked Lady Flames finished eighth at 893, behind seven top-16 teams and ahead of two, in the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational at Windemere, Florida. Lee's Haverly Harrold tied for 16th place individually at 220, and Emily Felix and Yui Srinchantamit each shot 221.
Softball
* Reagan Armour's two-out, two-run single in the top of the first inning held up for a 2-1 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball victory Wednesday against first-year NCAA Division I team Merrimack at Clearwater, Florida. Freshman Brooke Sudduth got the pitching win in her college debut, allowing four hits and the run in four innings, and senior Celie Hudson gave up two hits in a three-inning save. Emily Coltharp's leadoff double and an error preceded Armour's hit for UTC (7-14). Coltharp leads the Southern Conference (.417) and on-base percentage (.526).
Baseball
* Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe graduate Andrew Brock set a Covenant College record with seven RBIs in a 26-2 home win Tuesday against Iowa Wesleyan, and the Scots (11-4) set a team record with 10 doubles - four by Brock. They also got home runs from Brooks DuBose and CJ Edmond, and they have outscored their opponents 77-10 in the last five games. Brock was 4-for-5 and scored three runs, and Edmond and Max Wilson each drove in three. Josh Harvey (4-for-4, two doubles), Trevor Grapenthin (3-for-4, three doubles) and DuBose (2-for-3) each registered two RBIs and three runs, and Nick Pettit, Ross Skipper and Conor Austin combined to pitch a seven-inning five-hitter with nine strikeouts. Covenant freshman Kenny Mills, the reigning USA South rookie of the week, was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run after batting 7-for-14 with three walks, seven runs and five RBIs in the last four games. He hit two home runs in one.
Tennis
* Covenant's Esther Eddy and Madelyn Savage repeated as USA South women's tennis doubles team of the week after two 8-4 wins in No. 1 matches. Now 7-3 together for the 5-5 Lady Scots, they have won six in a row.
* Sewanee's Catherine Owen and Ellie Czura are the Southern Athletic Association's women's doubles team of the week for the second time in three weeks. They won 8-2 at No. 1 in the Tigers' 8-1 SAA-opening victory over Centre.
Fishing
* The very competitive and productive Bryan College bass fishing team had another high tournament finish last Saturday. The Lions' Cole Sands and Jake Lee were runners-up to a Jacksonville State duo in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series event on Lay Lake at Birmingham. The winners' five-fish totaled 17 pounds, 4 ounces; Sands and Lee's weighed 15-5.
Outdoors
* Outdoor Chattanooga is hiring outdoor trip leaders for a variety of activities; paid training and work; must be at least 18 with a valid Tennessee driver's license and current CPR/First Aid certifications; application deadline April 3. See outdoorchattanooga.com or call 423-643-6888.
Compiled by Ron Bush. Contact him at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.