DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Brianna Battle's 15 points led five Bethune-Cookman players in double figures as the Lady Wildcats held off Southern 68-56 Wednesday evening in Historic Moore Gym.

Chasimmie Brown (13 points and 10 rebounds) and Briana Hardee (10 points, 12 rebounds) each double-doubled, while Angel Golden and Ashanti Hunt scored 12 and 11 respectively as Bethune-Cookman (6-2) won its third straight and posted its best eight-game start since the 1985-86 team also went 6-2.

The Lady Wildcats led 38-23 at halftime, but Southern (1-6) got as close as 45-43 on Skylar O'Bear's jumper with 2:57 remaining in the third quarter.

Bethune-Cookman built its lead back to 61-50 on a Kanesha Battle three-pointer with 4:32 left. Southern closed to 61-56 on two Briana Green free throws with 2:23 left, but Brown scored five points on the Lady Wildcats' closing 7-0 run. The Lady Wildcats held Southern to 31 percent shooting and went 9-11 in the second quarter as they turned a 19-13 lead into a 38-23 halftime advantage.

Green led Southern with 25. Bethune-Cookman hosts Jacksonville Sunday at 3 p.m.

HEAD COACH VANESSA BLAIR-LEWIS

"This was a big rivalry match -- SWAC vs MEAC. We lost last year and we had a lot of get back."

"It did feel like a MEAC tournament game. We had to play mentally tough tonight."

"We had to break press and make good decisions breaking the press. Once we settled down after breaking the press, we kept the lead at a safe distance."

"To have five players in double figures and two with double-doubles is huge for us. Chasimmie was strong in the second half."

NOTES: Brianna Battle had all five of her assists in the fourth quarter … Brown, who had 10 second-half points, now has three double-doubles on the season .. B-CU made a season-high 26 free throws … Southern's 38 rebounds was the second lowest total for an opponent … Southern won last year … B-CU now 2-0 against the SWAC this year … In the crowd: B-CU Hall of Famer Marcia Pinder -- her niece plays for Southern.