ATLANTA—Keimarya Rivera scored a career-high 34 points as part of her 12th career double-double, and the Oglethorpe women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort in the second half to defeat Birmingham Southern 70-59 Sunday afternoon in Dorough Field House.

A close first half saw eight lead changes and six ties, including a 37-37 scoreline at the break, until Oglethorpe stormed into the lead for good with a 7-0 run early in the third quarter. Birmingham Southern would manage to get the deficit close a pair of times later in the second half, but Oglethorpe sealed the win with a 6-0 run to end the game.

Rivera split her efficiency across both halves, with 18 in the first and 16 in the second. She added 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Malia Melton and Jessamy Gaetanos both followed with eight points while Carley Bell scored seven.

Game Notes

• Rivera's previous career high was 28. She is the first Petrel to score 30 in a game since Sydni Donovan scored 35 in 2022. Rivera went 13-of-20 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
• Rivera's double-double was her sixth of the season and 12th of her career.
• Briley Elder posted a career-high seven assists alongside five points and five rebounds.
• Oglethorpe held Birmingham Southern to just 22 second-half points.
• Oglethorpe leads the all-time head-to-head series 20-16 dating back to the teams' first meeting in 2007. Oglethorpe also has won 11 of the last 14 meetings.

Up Next

Oglethorpe hits the road for the next four games over the next two weekends. This will include an immediate turnaround to face Millsaps and Birmingham Southern at their places next weekend, then Hendrix and Rhodes the following weekend.