Box Score The Lady Bruins welcomed the Emmanuel College Lions on Thursday night for a NCCAA DI South conference game. Although the weather was cool and crisp outside, inside the stadium the forecast called for rain as the Lions barraged the Bruins with baskets en route to a 68-37 win over BJU.
Julia Wright had 12 points but the Bruins
shot just 25% from the field in the 67-38 loss
to Emmanuel College. "One of the most disappointing things was our defense tonight and we really just let ourselves down," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We weren't extending and recovering from screens and didn't have very good help defense. We were letting their shooters get comfortable and they are a very talented team and knocked down their shots."
The Bruins came into the game with a 3-9 record and were coming off back to back losses to Southern Wesleyan University and Truett-McConnell College. Emmanuel College was 6-1 entering the game on Tuesday night. The two teams met earlier this season with the Lions capturing a 59-42 win in Georgia.
In the opening minutes, the Lions used back to back three's from Georgia Brown to jump out to an early 6-2 lead. After a Julia Wright 3-pointer, the Lions responded by going on a 22-0 run to take a 27-5 lead. The Lions shot an impressive 54% from three-point range to continue to extend their lead. After some timeout adjustments, the Bruins slowly began to climb back into the game but struggled to finish on their offensive opportunities. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bruins had a big deficit to overcome as they trailed 43-22.
"Honestly, tonight we had an off night," Bruins guard Maggi Ford said. "We weren't thinking together as a team. We tried to get it to the post and then the post player had two or three players on her and we just couldn't find the open player."
In the second half, the Lions kept up their defensive pressure and continued to extend their lead. A 13-0 run by Emmanuel to start the half squelched any comeback for the Bruins as they team looked for answers offensively. The Bruins shot just 25% from the floor throughout the game and were plagued with 16 turnovers. The team was able to get to the free-throw line in the 2nd half, but were 3 of 10 as the team struggled to score.
The Lions led by as many as 42 in the second half as they ran away with the game in a 67-38 win over the Lady Bruins. "We want to finish the semester strong," Coach LeViere said. "In the second half we just let things get away from us but I have confidence that our team is going to keep fighting and be ready for our next game."
Julia Wright led the Bruins with 12 points while shooting 4 of 7 from three-point range. Maggi Ford was the only other Bruin in double figures with 11 points. With the loss, the Lady Bruins have now lost three-straight and are 3-10 on the season. Next up, the team will play their last game of the first semester as they travel to Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday afternoon for a matchup with Johnson University.
