EMORY, Va. - Meredith College senior Brittaney Rice earned placement on the Emory and Henry Comfort Inn Holiday All-Tournament Team as the Avenging Angels claimed a 63-60 victory over the Centenary Cyclones. Rice recorded 16 points and five rebounds in the consolation game.

Down by as many as nine points during the first period, Meredith tied the game at 24s with 2:35 left in the half. Danielle Lee grabbed a defensive rebound and passed the ball ahead to Raven Gregory for the bucket.

Two plays later Lee dished off to Rice, who gave the Avenging Angels their first lead of the game. Centenary scored once more, but another Gregory fastbreak layup left Meredith with a two-point lead heading into the break.

The Cyclones earned the first possession of the second half but missed their chance to tie the game. Kim Hinton picked up the rebound and passed the ball ahead to Rice for an easy bucket.

Centenary scored the next four points before Meredith drifted ahead by as many as 10 points at 12:02 and again at 10:50. But the Cyclones did not go down without a fight.

The games offensive leader Nicole Cartaino scored seven of the next 11 points as the Cyclones pulled to within three with seven minutes remaining in regulation.

Rice hit a pair of free throws to end the run, but Cartaino capitalized on an Angel misstep to score another bucket in the paint.

The teams exchanged points during the next series, and Laquetta Hairston kept Meredith in the lead by four with a pair of layups. Lee forced a Centenary turnover and carried the ball the full length of the court for a layup to extend the lead to six.

The Cyclones pulled to within two with 11 ticks left on the clock and sent Rice to the free throw line on the inbounds play.

Rice missed the first but regained composure to give Meredith a three-point advantage with 10 seconds remaining. The Angels defended the three-point shot to claim the first victory of the season.

Hinton grabbed 14 boards with five points, and Jessi Hayes finished the night with a team high 16 points. Gregory scored 10 points, and Lee dished out four assists with seven points in the win.

Cartaino led all with 17 points, and Mallory George recorded 14 rebounds for the Cyclones.

The Avenging Angels return to Weatherspoon Gym Friday night for their first home event of the New Year. Meredith will host USA South foe Piedmont College at 6 p.m. in the conference opener.