Women's Basketball by Jonny Gamet

Lady Bruins Bounce Back with 70-53 Win

Team picks up 1st home win of the season with victory over Johnson University

Box Score
The Bruins capitalized on their opportunities from the free throw line and rode the 18 points from Kendra Jeffcott to capture their 1st home win of the 2014-15 season 70-53 over Johnson University on Tuesday night.

"We're starting to come together a bit more and have fun while working hard," Coach Mike LeViere said. "If we execute and do the little things the score will take care of itself."

 
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Kourtney Hoefler had 10 points and 17 rebounds
in the 70-53 win over Johnson University.
The Bruins entered Tuesday's game having lost their last three games. The Royals of Johnson University have begun this season strong as they entered the game with a 7-1 record. The Bruins were glad to be back in front of their hometown fans and were looking to pick up their first home win of the season in front of the Bruin faithful.

After gaining the first basket, the Bruins allowed Johnson University an 8-0 run to trail 8-2. The Bruins struggled to capitalize on shots around the rim as the team was 0-10 from inside 3-point range in the opening minutes. The team climbed back into the game behind the outside shooting of Maggi Ford and Sha'Ron Brunson and eventually recaptured the lead.

Throughout the first half, the Bruins defense struggled in containing Taylor Baham as the Royals forward finished the half with 12 points. Despite their offensive struggles, the Bruins were able to drive through the lane and generate foul shots. They took advantage of their opportunities and carried a slim 26-20 lead into halftime.

"We knew they woulde depend a lot on their post play tonight," Coach LeViere said. "They are a very well-coached team and move up and down the floor very well. We knew we needed to front the post and provide good help defense and improve on our communication. For the most part we did a good job in executing that."

In the second half, the Bruins began to take advantage of their opportunities as Kourtney Hoefler filled the offensive lanes for 10 second half points. The team also rode the shoulders of Kendra Jeffcott who sliced through the lane and was 10-11 from the line tonight. "Coach tells us to step up to the line with confidence and I focused on that tonight," Jeffcott said. "In warmups I was really feeling comfortable with it. We were doing a really good job of getting to the line and taking advantage of what they were giving us."

As the half wore on, the Bruins picked up their defensive play and extended their lead. Kourtney Hoefler and Bridgette Gleed limited touches for Royals forward Taylor Baham as the Bruins defense forced 12 turnovers on the night.

The team shot better in the second half, but the story of the game was the Bruins shooting 21-25 from the line. The team was able to capitalize on their opportunities in the second half to come away with a 70-53 win at home.

"We made good decisions with the ball tonight," Coach LeViere said. "We can't control the opponent but we can control us and we did a good job of rebounding and taking care of the ball and if we continue to do well and work on the little things we'll do well."

Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Kourtney Hoefler scored 10 points and had 17 rebounds for the Bruins. Maggi Ford scored 12 points and Bre Bullard chipped in 10. With the win, the Bruins improve to 3-7 on the season and will have a tough conference game on Thursday night as they travel to Central, South Carolina for a matchup with Southern Wesleyan University.

 
 



 
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