ANDERSON, S.C. - Forcing South Atlantic Conference rival Lenoir-Rhyne into 23 turnovers, headlined by 10 steals, Anderson University women's basketball claimed a 62-48 win to begin conference play Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

With the victory, the Trojans start the year with an unbeaten 2-0 record, marking the first 2-0 start since 2007-08's edition of the Black and Gold began the year 3-0. The Bears, who are coming off a nine-point win at Queens for their first victory of the season on Wednesday, drop to 1-3 on the year and an even 1-1 mark in league play.

For the second consecutive contest, sophomore guard Heather Jankowy came off the bench and score double figures, notching a game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The sophomore connected on three 3-pointers, matching Wednesday's total, as the Trojans shot 31.3 percent (5-for-16) from behind the arc for the game. Recording the other two treys was senior Sierra Simpson, who has scored in double figures in both games to begin the year. Also pulling down six rebounds and tallying three swipes, Simpson finished with 15 points and four assists.

The first 10 minutes of play saw three ties with Anderson taking the largest lead of the three with 12:46 remaining. With the lead, a 3-pointer L-R's Jazmine Charles, who was last season's SAC Player of the Year, evened the score at 12-12 with 12:01 remaining.

The teams played to two more even scorelines before AU went on an 8-0 run headlined by one of Jankowy's 3-pointers to put the Trojans up by four with just over four minutes remaining in the opening half. With a 26-19 lead with less than three minutes to go, the visitors chipped away at the advantage, scoring the final four points of the period, as the Anderson went into halftime with a 26-23 lead.

Looking for its first made field goal since the 3:30 mark in the first half, Simpson began the second stanza with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, handing the Trojans a six-point lead. Facing the deficit, L-R chipped into the AU lead, but was unable to take a lead, after the visitors made it a two-point game with 7:04 left when Brooke Robinson scored on a layup.

Following the basket, the Trojans went on a 15-4 spurt leading to their first double figure lead of the game when sophomore forward Alexis Dillard dropped in a layup for two of her eight points at the 1:34 mark, pushing the score to 57-46.

Jankowy's final trey, followed by a fast-break layup by Simpson, handed the Trojans a 14-point advantage, setting the final score. For the period, AU shot 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) from the floor, while finished 3-of-4 (75 percent) from behind the arc.

For L-R, Charles and teammate Jenni Gust, who both landed on the Preseason SAC First Team, combined for 23 of the team's 48 points. Starters Farrah Young and Morgan Cooper each totaled nine points, while just two Lenoir-Rhyne points came from the bench.

Despite the advantage on the scoreboard, AU dropped the rebounding battle, 42-41, after claiming an astounding 58 boards Wednesday night at USC Aiken. Dillard led the team with eight rebounds, while Simpson, Jasmine Franklin and Jennifer Monroe each had six.

Anderson shifts its focus to a rare Tuesday night matchup with SAC foe Lincoln Memorial. Tip-off from the Abney Center is schedule for 6 p.m.