Box Score
The Lady Bruins welcomed rival Clearwater Christian College to Greenville on Friday night. The Bruins were coming off a tough 48-37 loss in which the team had their lowest scoring game in school history. Despite the tough loss, the Bruins had won four of their last five games. The Cougars of Clearwater had lost four of their last five entering the game against BJU. These two teams met a few weeks ago in Florida with the Bruins gaining the 76-58 win. The Bruins would be without their leading scorer Kendra Jeffcott who was sidelined with an injury. The crowd was out in full voice as the Bruins looked to get back into the winning column.
From the opening tip, the Bruins guards began to rain down three point shots as the team jumped out to a 10-2 score. In the middle of the first half, the Bruins got three straight three-point shots from Bre Bullard and Julia Wright to go on a 9-0 run and increase their lead to 30-12. The team shot over 57% from the field as the Bruins offense controlled the tempo of the game. The Bruins defense was smothering as well as the team forced turnovers and tough shots. As the buzzer sounded, the Bruins had a comfortable 37-15.
"We were able to control the post which opened up the outside for us," Coach LeViere said. "Our defense and rebounding were key in allowing us to open up the offense."
In the second half, the Cougars took their halftime adjustments and came out with a 7-0 run to cut into the lead. The Bruins didn't have the same success of the first half, as their shots rattled the rim but wouldn't fall. The Bruins used their advantage in the post with Brianna Delaney and Kourtney Hoefler to slowly build a lead back. "We felt that in this particular matchup we had a post game that could dominate," Coach LeViere said.
After a Hannah Tompkins 3, the Bruins took a 55-40 lead. The team never looked back as they made several clutch baskets down the stretch to hold on for the 67-56 victory.
"It was good to get this win tonight to bounce back from our last game," Coach LeViere said. "We are going to need to build on this and get even better as we have another tough test next game."
Kourtney Hoefler led the Bruins with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Maggi Ford had 10 points while shooting 50% from three-point range. The Bruins forced 19 turnovers and outrebounded the Cougars 48-34.
With the win, the Bruins improve to 16-6 on the year including 9-1 at home. The team will face a tough test as they welcome in Southern Wesleyan on Tuesday night.
