Box Score
The Tennessee Temple Crusaders played the role of spoiler on Friday night and rode the shoulders of senior guard Amanda Rector's 23 points in the 65-60 win over the Lady Bruins. "She is a very good player," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We wanted to make sure we guarded her really well and make her earn her points. We were able to fight back in this game and just came up a little bit short."

The Bruins came into Friday night's game with an 8-11 record, having had their 5-game winning streak snapped at home last Saturday in a 68-39 loss to Bluefield State College. The Crusaders entered Friday's game with a 6-11 record and were riding back to back losses as they took the court in Greenville. The Bruins knew they would need to have an all-around good game as the team was 0-3 in three tries against the Crusaders.

Brianna Delaney got the Bruins going with a layup as the Bruins forward scored the first six points for the team out of the gate as both teams looked to take control. The Bruins were able to take the lead after Kourtney Hoefler knocked down a jump shot to make it 25-22.

From there, the Crusaders went on a 14-0 run as the team caught fire offensively to take a double-digit lead. The Bruins responded and began to cut back into the deficit but trailed 40-31.

"Coach always tells us to control what we can control," Bruins' captain Kourtney Hoelfer said. "Even though down by nine I felt like we could compete with them and that we just needed to convert better. We weren't put down or put away and we came out with some fire and came out stronger in the second half."

In the second half, the Bruins were determined to fight their way back into the game. Maggi Ford knocked down four three-point shots in the second half to help the Bruins get back into the game. After a Sha'Ron Brunson three-pointer, the Bruins had climbed all the way back to tie the game at 54-54. The Crusaders responded with the play of Amanda Rector, who tortured the Bruins with 23 points while shooting 48% from the field. Each time the Bruins would get close, Rector and the Crusaders would come up with a great shot to keep the lead.

With less than a minute to play, the Bruins were down two and had the chance to tie. Kourtney Hoefler missed the first of her one-and-one opportunity and Kirsten Fowler knocked down a key shot for the Crusaders to help them hold on for a 65-60 win over BJU.

"This is not doom and gloom here," Coach LeViere said. "Unfortunately we came up a little bit short but this was a fun game and a good game for us to be involved with. We set up certain goals as a team before the game and almost all those goals we met or were just shy of reaching those and that was reflected in the score. Overall I was happy with how we played tonight."

Brianna Delaney led the Bruins with 14 points and 5 rebounds while Kendra Jeffcott scored 11 with 9 boards. Maggi Ford was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins with 12 points. The team won the rebounding battle with a 32-31 margin over TTU. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 8-12 on the season.

Next up, the Bruins will welcome Toccoa Falls College on Saturday night.