Box Score It wasn't the highest scoring game in Bruins history, but a strong rebounding and defensive effort gave the Lady Bruins their second straight win with a 37-34 victory over Columbia International University on Tuesday night. "This was a good win for us," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We beat a quality team in CIU and they have had several solid wins on the season. I'm proud of our team."
The Bruins and Rams had met twice during the 2013-14 season, with the Bruins capturing double-digit wins in both games. The Rams have done a great job in strengthening their team this offseason and had several new recruits on the roster. CIU entered Tuesday's game with a 3-1 record while the Bruins were 1-4. The next chapter of this South Carolina rivalry was set to be written under the lights of Moore Fitness Stadium.
In the early minutes of the game, the Bruins and Rams struggled to score. The Bruins jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but the team then went silent offensively as the Bruins wouldn't score for the next 10 minutes of play. The Rams chipped away at the Bruins lead behind the shooting of Ann Davis. The Rams were able to regain the lead and took an 18-17 advantage into the locker room at the break. The Bruins shot a mere 25% from the field in the 1st half.
"I can't wait until the ball starts dropping for us," Coach LeViere said. "On a night we didn't shoot well we were able to rebound and play defense."
In the second half, the Bruins shooting struggles continued as the team shot 2-19 from behind the arch for the game. The Bruins were able to climb back into the game as Kendra Jeffcott slashed through the lane for points and trips to the foul line. Late in the game, the Bruins took the lead back 33-30. Bre Bullard and HannahTompkins each sunk a pair of clutch free throws to help ice the victory for the Bruins 37-34.
"We had a really good team effort tonight," Coach LeViere said. "We had good bench play and played really good defense. Once our offense starts clicking it will really compliment the good defense we are playing."
Brianna Delaney had a monster game on the boards for the Bruins as she scored 8 points and recorded 19 rebounds. Kendra Jeffcott led all scorers with 16 points and 9 rebounds. With the win, the Bruins improve to 2-4 on the season. Next up, the team will play the last of their seven game road trip as they travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina to battle Converse College on Saturday.
