Box Score
The Lady Bruins put their four-game winning streak on the line Friday night as they traveled to Winston-Salem to face Piedmont. These two teams met a week ago, with the Bruins finding the basket early an often in a 51-34 rout. Piedmont was coming into this game looking for some revenge and looking to give their seniors one last "W" in their final home game. The Bruins knew that in order to establish momentum early, the team would have to lock down on Emily Buffaloe.
From the opening tip, the Bruins were able to establish control and work their offense. Trisha Irving took the offensive reins and began to help work the ball inside to Kourtney Hoefler. The Bruins capitalized on their height advantage by continuing to get Hoefler and Jeffcott the ball inside. Each time the Bruins scored, Piedmont would counter with a basket of their own. "We were playing great defense," Coach LeViere said. "Sometimes a team just knocks down shots and that's what happened tonight." Both teams battled back and forth and Piedmont banked home a buzzer-beater three-pointer at the half, to cut the Bruins lead to 24-23.
"Nothing we could have done to defend it better," Coach LeViere said of the last second shot. "Seemed like everything they threw up in the 1st half went in."
As the second half began, the Bruin's defense toughened. Bre Bullard, the Bruins defensive stopper, began to lock down harder on Emily Buffaloe forcing tough shots. Bullard limited Buffaloe to just 10 points in the game. The Bruin's defense kept Piedmont from scoring for over ten minutes as the team applied great pressure to force turnovers. As the game wore on, the Bruins were able to get opportunities from the free-throw line, as Kourtney Hoefler shot 7-8 from the line in the game. The Bruins slowly began to build a lead as the team got a much-needed offensive spark from Chalice Pack who scored 13 points. As the game counted down the final seconds, the Bruins realized their winning streak would continue. The final buzzer sounded giving the Bruins a victory 57-35.
"We stayed disciplined tonight," Coach LeViere said. "We were able to run our offensive game plan and play great defense which paid off."
Chalice Pack and Kourtney Hoefler each had 13 points for the Bruins and Hoefler added 10 rebounds. Kendra Jeffcott chipped in 9 points and added 8 rebounds. Trisha Irving had 5 assists to go along with 8 points on the night.
With the win, the Bruins move to 10-12 on the season, and extended their winning streak to five games. The Bruins will face a tough test at home against Tennessee Temple on Saturday night. "Their team is very athletic, and they play extremely physical," Coach LeViere said. "It will be a challenge for us."
