BURLINGTON, N.C. — South Carolina State women's golf closed out the Elon Women's Invitational with its strongest team round of the tournament Tuesday, showing improvement over the final 18 holes at Alamance Country Club.

The Lady Bulldogs carded a 322 in the final round, improving by five strokes from their second-round 327 and two strokes from their opening-round 324. SC State finished the 54-hole event with a team total of 973, placing 14th in the 15-team field.

SC State's final-round effort was led by Alyssa Hardy, who fired a team-best 7-over-par 78 on the par-71, 6,225-yard layout. Hardy steadily improved throughout the tournament, posting rounds of 81, 79 and 78 for a 238 total (+25) to finish tied for 58th overall.

Jane Mhonda also finished on a positive note, bouncing back from an 85 in the second round to shoot a 79 (+8) Tuesday. Mhonda completed the tournament at 244 (+31) and tied for 68th.

Yaíza Fernandez was SC State's top overall finisher on the individual leaderboard. Fernandez posted rounds of 78, 77 and 81 for a three-round total of 236 (+23), earning a tie for 53rd place.
Rounding out the Lady Bulldogs' lineup, Alyssa Gonzalez recorded an 84 (+13) in the final round and finished with a 54-hole total of 255 (+42).

The final-round leaderboard showed SC State's Hardy at 78, Mhonda at 79, Fernandez at 81 and Gonzalez at 84 as the Lady Bulldogs combined for their tournament-best 322.

Host Elon won the team championship with an 861 total after rounds of 282, 289 and 290. William & Mary finished second at 882, while Wofford placed third at 884.

The tournament was played over 54 holes at Alamance Country Club, a par-71, 6,225-yard course.

For SC State, the final round provided an encouraging finish as the Lady Bulldogs produced their lowest team score of the event and had two players break 80 Tuesday.