E Brown 1-11-25
65
Rust Rust 0-1
68
Winner Lane Lane 1-0,0-0 SIAC
Rust Rust
0-1
65
Final
68
Lane Lane
1-0,0-0 SIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Rust Rust 14 20 14 17 65
Lane Lane 13 13 21 21 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Lane opens season with win over Rust

JACKSON, Tenn. — Lane College opened its 2025–26 women's basketball season in thrilling fashion on Saturday afternoon, erasing a double-digit deficit and surging late to defeat Rust College 68–65 inside J.F. Lane Gymnasium.

Rust led for more than 22 minutes and built its largest advantage of 10 points late in the second quarter, but a resilient Lane squad responded out of the halftime break — outscoring the Bearcats 21–14 in the third and 21–17 in the fourth to turn the game around.

Key Performers
Lane was led by Europe Brown's 18 points, including going 5-for-6 at the free-throw line and several clutch baskets during the comeback push.
Freshman forward Madison Thomas added 14 points off the bench, fueling the fourth-quarter run with three straight layups to give the Dragons their first lead since the opening minutes.

Lauren Lain scored 9 points, and Kamil Washum chipped in 6 points and 3 assists, helping generate momentum in the second and third periods.
Lane's bench proved to be a major factor — outscoring Rust's second unit 20–9.

Turning Point
Trailing 48–47 entering the fourth, Lane opened the final period by locking down defensively and attacking the paint. Thomas scored on back-to-back layups to push Lane ahead 57–54, and from there the Dragons never trailed again. A put-back layup from Ceriah Evans pushed the lead to six with 6:49 remaining, the largest for Lane on the afternoon.

Rust had one last surge, cutting the deficit to two points in the final minute, but Lane closed the game at the free-throw line and got a key defensive stop to secure the opening-day victory.

Stat Notes
  • Lane shot 48% from the field in the second half, compared to 35.7% in the first half.
  • Rust's Patsy Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, but Lane held her scoreless from three after halftime.
  • The Dragons won the turnover battle, forcing 25 takeaways while committing 21 turnovers.
  • Both teams scored 36 points in the paint, but Lane owned the margin in bench scoring (20–9) and fourth-quarter free throws.