Box Score
The Bruins women's basketball team was on the road Friday night for their last road trip of the regular season. Their opponent would be the Johnson University Royals. The two teams had met for the first game of the season with the Bruins winning 64-52. The Bruins were coming off a tough loss to Southern Wesleyan on Tuesday night and were looking to climb back into the win column as they took the court at Phillips Welshimer Gym in Tennessee.
From the opening tip, the Bruins and Royals traded baskets and the lead. The Royals were able to jump out first as they capitalized on their opportunities. The Bruins had many good looks, but their shots didn't fall. As the half wore on, the turnover bug began to bite the Bruins more and more as the team squandered opportunities to get back into the game. The Bruins fought back and closed the distance at the half to a 40-34 score.
"We got stops on defense but we couldn't convert offensively," Coach LeViere said. "Turnovers have been the Achilles heel all season long for us."
In the second half, the Royals came out strong and built their lead back up to double digits. The Bruins then clawed their way back into the game behind the play of Kourtney Hoefler and Kendra Jeffcott to cut the lead to 3 with just over 10 minutes to go. From there, the Royals capitalized on more Bruin turnovers to build the lead back up. With less than three minutes to play, the Bruins committed four turnovers on four straight possessions and allowed the Royals to hand BJU their second straight loss 73-68.
"We worked really hard tonight but just didn't reward ourselves on offense," Coach LeViere said. "I was proud of our effort. Johnson played really well and made some impressive shots. We just didn't play our best tonight."
Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Kourtney Hoefler was the only other Bruin in double figures with 12 points and 9 rebounds. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 18-9 on the season. The team will conclude their regular season on Monday night as they welcome in Tennessee Temple. This will be "senior night" for the women's basketball team. The Bruins hope to end their regular season on a high note with a win on Monday night.
