Box Score Carmen Lockhart fueled a high-powered Eagles offense with 26 points and 17 rebounds on Thursday night as Reinhardt University handed the Lady Bruins a 79-53 loss in the 2014-15 season opener. "We didn't play our kind of ball," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We let their physical play take us out of our game and it effected every aspect of our game." This would be the season opener for both teams. The Bruins finished the 2013-14 season with a 19-11 record while the Eagles finished with a 14-16 record. The energy was high for the Eagles as the hometown crowd at Brown Athletic Center was in full voice for the start of another basketball season.
The Eagles soared out of the gate and immediately went right at the Bruins. BJU struggled with maintaining possession which led to transition buckets. Bruins' forward Kourtney Hoefler played well but struggled to contain Eagles forward Carmen Lockhart who battled in the post for points. Just a few minutes in, the Eagles had a 21-2 lead.
Slowly the Bruins began to chip away at the lead but each time they would make a run, the Eagles would capitalize on opportunities to extend their lead. The Bruins struggled from the line and the team committed 13 turnovers throughout the first half. At the break, the Bruins found themselves in a big hole down 40-17. "We definitely can play with them," Coach LeViere said. "We could have played a lot better."
In the second half, the Eagles impressive offensive play continued as they were able to work through their offensive sets for points. The Bruins came out strong in the half and were determined to take better care of the basketball. Kendra Jeffcott began to slice through the Eagles defense into the lane for points while also battling for rebounds on the offensive and defensive ends.
Reinhardt began to pull away in the second half as the team notched 20 assists as a team throughout the game with Payton Smith leading all players with 9. In the end, the lead was too insurmountable as the Bruins dropped their opener 79-53 on the road.
"We grew up a little tonight and learned from this," Coach LeViere said. "Now it is time to move on and prepare for the next one."
With the loss, the Bruins are 0-1 on the season. Kendra Jeffcott led the way for the Bruins with 16 points and 9 rebounds while Sha'Ron Brunson added 15 points for the team. The Bruins struggled with turnovers in the game as the team committed 23 throughout the contest. The story of the game was in the paint as the Bruins allowed 30 points inside while allowing 26 points off turnovers.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Saturday afternoon against Columbia College.
