BILLINGS, Mont. – The Lindsey Wilson women's basketball team opened play at the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, presented by Wells Fargo, with a 63-52 victory over Martin Methodist (Tenn.) on Wednesday at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.

With the victory, the top-seeded Blue Raiders (31-2) advance to the NAIA Second Round and face fifth-seeded Central Methodist (Mo.) on Friday at 10 a.m. CT.

The loss knocks eighth-seeded Martin Methodist (21-11) out of the tournament.

Lindsey Wilson led by as many as 14 in the game, but had to hold off a late RedHawk surge that cut the lead down to four in the fourth quarter. The Blue Raiders made some key shots down the stretch and pounded the ball inside, scoring 40 of their 63 points in the paint.

Kayla Styles recorded her 17th double-double of the season to the tune of 21 points and 12 rebounds. J'Nayah Hall finished three points off her career high with 18 for the game. Courtney Sandlin added eight points off the bench.

Both teams had a slow start to the game, combining to go 2-for-14 from the floor with each side making one field goal. The Blue Raiders did not score their first basket until the 6:20 mark of the first quarter. The offense finally began clicking for LWC as the Blue Raiders rolled off 10 straight to go up 15-7, eventually holding a 15-9 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of play.

Lindsey Wilson continued to flourish on offense and extended the lead to double digits for the first time at 25-15 following a Styles three pointer at the 6:19 mark, one of just two three pointers made in the contest for LWC. The game went into a scoring lull for the next three minutes until a pair of Kayla Richardson free throws made it 27-15 with 3:02 to play in the half. A few minutes later, Hall gave the Blue Raiders their largest lead of the contest after hitting a hook shot to make it 30-16 with 1:29 to play in the half. Martin Methodist got the lead back down to 10 after a four-point spurt to close the half, including a three pointer at the buzzer.

It was rough shooting for both squads in the opening half as LWC hit 32.3 percent from the floor and 1-for-5 from deep. Martin Methodist made just 25.0 percent of their attempts and was 2-for-9 from deep. Lindsey Wilson dominated the glass, outrebounding the RedHawks 31-15 in the opening 20 minutes, while also outscoring their bench 14-0.

Martin Methodist came out firing after the break, using a 12-6 run to whittle the Blue Raider lead down to four at 36-32. The RedHawks used an 8-0 run including back-to-back three pointers to make it a two-possession game. But Lindsey Wilson had a response as a Teanna Curry jumper ended the RedHawk run and started a 10-0 run for LWC, capped off by another Hall basket to match the largest lead of the game at 46-32 with 2:09 to play in the third.

Martin Methodist countered the response with eight-straight points, part of a 12-2 run over the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters to bring it back to a four-point game at 48-44.

Lindsey Wilson came back with some strong defensive stands and offensive put-back baskets, using an 11-2 run to go up 63-49 with 1:23 to play. The Blue Raiders led 58-49 late in game before a Richardson corner three, just the second made shot from beyond the arc for LWC, ended all hopes of a RedHawk comeback.

The Blue Raiders went on to win 63-52 and improve to 5-7 all-time in the NAIA First Round.

Lindsey Wilson shot just 38.3 percent from the floor with a pair of three pointers. Martin Methodist made 33.3 percent of their shots but their three-point shooting abilities kept them in it, hitting 7-of-17 attempts.

The Blue Raiders finished with nine team blocks, one shy of the program record, while scoring 26 bench points and hitting 15-of-20 free throws.

Lindsey Wilson now advances to face fifth-seeded Central Methodist (Mo.) on Friday at 10 a.m. CT.