Box Score
The Bruins women's basketball team kicked off their 2013-14 season by welcoming in the Johnson University Royals on Friday night. The team went 10-16 in last season and have been working hard this offseason to improve. Coach LeViere added several key players to the team that helped to strengthen the core of returning players last season. The Davis Field House was in full voice as the Bruins were ready to begin their second season of intercollegiate competition.

From the opening tip, the Bruins came out strong and showed their offensive prowess by jumping out to an early lead. The Bruins dominated the paint with a three-pronged attack of Kendra Jeffcott, Kim Spiecker and Kourtney Hoefler as the team extended their lead to double digits. From there, the Royals called a timeout to regroup and came out with an 8-0 run to cut the game back to 3 points.

"Our team was going through some adjustments both in learning how to play with their new teammates and adjusting to game speed," Coach LeViere said. The Bruins got back into the groove of their offense and began to work their sets to extend the lead. Brianna Delaney provided a big boost in the post with 3 first half offensive rebounds. As the buzzer sounded, the Bruins clung to a slim 26-21 lead at the half.

"We needed to take better care of the basketball," Coach LeViere said. "We did some things right but we needed to work better together on defense." 

In the second half, the Bruins came out with much more intensity and drive to start the half. The Bruins worked the ball into the post for Kim Spiecker, who took advantage of a defensive mismatch all night for 20 points for the Bruins.

Slowly, the team began to gain a comfortable lead until they were up by double digits. Kim Spiecker made some clutch free throw opportunities down the stretch to keep the lead while Kendra Jeffcott continued to dominate the paint with points and rebounds. The Bruins defense was solid as the Bruins forced 25 turnovers throughout the game. Maggi Ford provided the range for the Bruins with 12 points and a few big three pointers in the second half. As the buzzer sounded, the Bruins had begun their 2013-14 season with a 64-52 win over Johnson University.

"It was important to get this win tonight," Coach LeViere said. "Going forward we need to play better defense and rebound better but overall we did good tonight." 

Kim Spiecker led the way for the Bruins with 20 points while Kendra Jeffcott added 14 and 10 rebounds. The Bruins are 1-0 on the season and will have little time to digest this win as the team will head to Columbia College on Saturday afternoon for their first road test of the season.