The Bruins women welcomed in the Truett-McConnell Bears on Tuesday night to Greenville. The Bruins were riding a three-game winning streak and were glad to be back in the Davis Field House after back to back road games. The Bears and Bruins met earlier this season in Georgia with the Bruins winning narrowly 52-49. Truett-McConnell came into the game on Tuesday night having won two of their last three games. The stage was set as the battle of Ursidae (scientific name for bear) was about to begin.
The Bruins came out strong in the opening seconds as Kendra Jeffcott knocked down an opening three as the Bruins jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead. From there, both teams struggled offensively as both teams were scoreless for over five minutes of action in the first half. The Bruins shot a dismal 21% from the field in the first half, including shooting 13% from three point range. Despite their struggle, the team kept it close by playing good defense and forcing Truett-McConnell to take tough shots.
The offense was dealt a blow as Kim Spiecker picked up three straight fouls forcing her to sit a majority of the rest of the first half. Truett-McConnell capitalized by going on a 10-3 run to increase their lead. The Bruins tried to battle back but went into the half posting their worst score of any half 17-23.
"We weren't patient in the first half with our shots," Coach LeViere said. "We wanted to take that first look, and often we were taking shots with hands in our face. We didn't make very good decisions with our shots which hurt us but we were pleased that we were still in the game because of our defense."
In the second half, the Bruins made Trisha Irving who helped propel the Bruins with a 6-0 run in the opening minutes to cut the score to 23-26. The Bears responded by going on a 9-0 run to distance themselves from the Bruins. As the half wore on, the Bruins slowly began to chip away at the lead. Brianna Delaney played great in the post as she battled for 10 offensive rebounds on the night. With the team trailing 42-35, Kim Spiecker fouled out for the Bruins. The two teams went back and forth in this hard fought game, but the Bruins could not gain the lead.
With less than a minute to play, Kendra Jeffcott completed a three point play to cut the lead to 40-42. After a good defensive stop, Trisha Irving was fouled but failed to convert on the one-and-one opportunity. The Bruins came up with another great stop on defense and called timeout with just 15 seconds left. As the final play began, Trisha Irving dribbled around the Bears defense and
scored on a running jump shot just as time expired to send the game to overtime 42-42.
"It wasn't anything I drew up and was actually a broken play," Coach LeViere said. "Thankfully Trisha got free and took over the game for us. That's why she is our point guard and general."
As the overtime period began, the Bruins had taken momentum from the Bears and added to it as Trisha Irving knocked down a three pointer on the first possession. The Bruins played smart in the overtime period and held the Bears in check in forcing tough shots. Eventually the Bruins worked their lead to 52-47 after a basket from Chalice Pack. The Bruins were 10-13 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the overtime victory 57-49 over Truett McConnell.
"We showed great composure all game," Coach LeViere said. "One thing that I say a lot is that whether we are up 10 or down 10 our focus and intensity should be the same."
Trisha Irving led the Bruins with 16 points while shooting 50% from the floor. Brianna Delaney chipped in 11 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Kendra Jeffcott also scored 14 points for the Bruins. With the win, the Bruins remain unbeaten at home while pushing their winning streak to four games. The team is now 10-3 on the season and will have a tough region opponent on Friday night as they welcome the Emmanuel College Lions to Greenville.
