By Matthew D. Stokes, BerryVikings.com Lead Writer

ROME, Ga. – Keyed by a late shooting foul, Rhodes defeated Berry's women's basketball, 55-53, in a Southern Athletic Association matchup on Friday night at the Cage Center.

Rhodes upped its record to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in SAA play. Berry dropped to 4-6 and 1-1.

In a back-and-forth second period, Berry's Alexa Evans nailed a three-pointer to give Berry a 49-46 lead with 4:24 remaining. Rhodes responded with two baskets in the next several minutes to take a 50-49 advantage at the 1:57 mark. Berry's Megan Walsh banked in a shot with under two minutes to go to put the team back in front at 51-50.

With the game clock ticking down and the score tied at 53-53, Berry's Chanlir Segarra was called for a foul on Rhodes' Natalie Goodrum with 0.8 seconds left. Goodrum knocked down both foul shots to seal the deal.

"We knew it was going to be a battle against them," said Berry Head Coach Stephanie Dunn. "The last four minutes we hit big shots; they hit big shots. It went back and forth."

Berry's Walsh led the team with 17 points along with nine rebounds off the bench while freshman Tara Mullinax totaled 13 points and nine boards. Rhodes' Lauren Avant tacked on a game-high 22 points, and Amy Handleman grabbed 11 rebounds.

In the first half, Berry faced a deficit as large as nine points after three consecutive Rhodes three-pointers put them ahead 20-11. By the halftime buzzer, however, Berry rallied to take a 28-26 lead. Mullinax paced Berry with 11 first-half points.

Berry will return to its home court on Sunday afternoon against another SAA opponent, Hendrix, at 1 p.m.