RALEIGH, N.C. - The Meredith College basketball team collected their fifth consecutive win Wednesday night with a 68-53 victory over the visiting N.C. Wesleyan Bishops. Jessi Hayes led all with a game-high 21 points, and Brittaney Rice finished with seven assists.

The Avenging Angels jumped out to an early 12-2 lead thanks, in part, to back-to-back-to-back layups from Hayes. Laquetta Hairston and Rice each drained a pair of free throws, and Raven Gregory capitalized on a Rice steal to extend the Meredith advantage.

Meredith hit 52 percent from the field to maintain the double-digit spread at halftime.

Danielle Lee scored in the opening play of the second period, and Hairston forced a Bishop turnover to give the ball back to the Angels for another Hayes layup.

The Battling Bishops cut the lead to thirteen before a 5-0 Meredith run gave the Angels their largest lead of 18 points with 16:45 remaining in regulation.

But a tenacious N.C. Wesleyan squad refused to fade. Down 16 with 10:45 left on the clock, the Bishops opened up a full court press that gave Meredith difficulty inbounding the ball.

Wesleyan picked up four quick steals to help shutdown Meredith's drive. The effort led the Bishops on a 14-1 run to trim their deficit to just three points with 7:35 remaining.

Lee and Nicole Miller finally broke the press, and Miller dished off to Lee for the bucket. Lee followed in the next series with a pair of free throws, and Hayes drained one from beyond the arc to give Meredith some breathing room again.

A second chance opportunity gave Wesleyan an easy bucket inside, but the Angels scored the next five to extend their advantage back to 13 with just 1:31 on the clock.

Wesleyan scored a quick bucket on the other end, but Kim Hinton put the game away on a three-point play the next time down the floor.

To go along with the 21-point performance from Hayes, Hinton and Gregory led the Angels with seven rebounds. In her five minutes on the floor, Diana Owens contributed a pair of assists and grabbed five boards for the Angels.

Wesleyan's Netaih Davis led the Bishops with nine points, adding four boards, and Kenyata Harris recorded eight apiece in the loss.

The Avenging Angels head to Maryville this weekend for a 6 p.m. Friday night contest with the Scots. Covenant follows Saturday afternoon in a 2 p.m. road game in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Follow both games live HERE.