VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. (July 17, 2014) -- Stanford’s Casey Danielson took medalist honors on Thursday at the North & South Women’s Amateur.

Danielson shot a final round one-under 70 to post a three-under 210 total, good for a one stroke victory over Alison Lee of UCLA.

“(Playing for medalist) was definitely in the back of my mind,” Danielson said in an interview at Pinehurst. “I just wanted to have a good day and get ready for match play. But winning is always in the back of your mind. It was hard not to think about it.”

She handled the nerves well, as she made the turn at even par, then made birdies at 11 and 12. She gave one back on 13, but parred her last five holes, which ended up as good enough for the medalist trophy.

Lee posted a 71 on Thursday, her second straight even par round after starting with a two-under 69 on Tuesday. She had a poor start, as she double bogeyed the third hole of the day before rebounding with two birdies and 13 pars.

Second-round co-leader Lauren Kim fell back in the final round, as a three-over 74 left her in fifth place headed into match play.

Defending champion Ally McDonald finished a shot behind Kim at two-over 215, good enough for sixth place and a spot in the match play bracket. “I’m still not where I need to be,” McDonald explained. “I’m struggling to find it right now. I’ve got to play better if I’m going to beat everybody.”

The top 16 players made it to Friday’s first round of match play. The cut came at six-over 219. Medalist Danielson is scheduled to play Gabriella Wahl of East Tennessee state in the first round, while McDonald will face off against Regina Palasencia of Arkansas on Friday morning.