Box Score
The Lady Bruins muscled their way to a victory on Thursday night as nine different players scored to power the team to a 67-57 victory over Johnson University. "I don't want to take anything away from Johnson because they are a well-coached team, I feel like we didn't have a great night," Coach Mike LeViere said. "I felt like we were a little flat tonight. We were stagnate on offense and that forced us to change things up offensively. But I have to credit Johnson because they forced us into a lot of those changes."  
 
 

The Bruins were coming off a three-game losing streak, including tough back to back losses last week as the team was 4-4 on the season. Johnson University was riding a three-game winning streak and was 4-1 on the season. Their lone loss came from the Bruins back in the first game of the season in Knoxville, Tennessee. As the teams took the court in the Davis Field House, the Bruins were looking to right the ship in front of their hometown fans. 

From the opening tip, the Bruins came out strong and rode the play of Kendra Jeffcott and Sha'Ron Brunson to jump out to a 7-3 lead. The Royals responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead as the Bruins were back on their heels. Although the Bruins quickly gained the lead back, the team failed to capitalize on several opportunities around the rim as the first quarter ended tied 17-17. 

In the second quarter, the Bruins continued to gain opportunities on their sets but the shots wouldn't fall as the team wasn't able to build a sizable lead. The team got a spark from the bench as Sarah Thomson and Bhrianna Jackson helped the Bruins build a 26-19 lead. The Bruins stood strong defensively, but the Royals continued to battle to keep the game close and closed out the quarter strong to cut into the Bruins lead 28-25 at the half. 

"We weren't clicking very well offensively," Coach LeViere said. "I felt like we did some good things but then we wouldn't reward ourselves by finishing the play." 

In the second half, the Bruins got great play from Brianna Delaney in the post as she scored the first five points for the Bruins in the quarter sparking an 8-2 run to help the Bruins stay on top. Still, the Royals came charging back with the play of Taylor Baham who scored 16 points in the 2nd half to keep Johnson University in the game. As the quarter buzzer sounded, the teams knew it would go down to the wire as the Bruins held a 46-42 lead. 

With victory in their sights, Bhrianna Jackson and Sydney Bedsaul knocked down back-to-back three's to help the Bruins keep the advantage. Eventually the team built a double-digit lead after a basket by Kendra Jeffcott 61-48. The Royals then came storming back and cut the lead to 62-57 with just over 2 minutes to play. It looked to be deja vu all over again for the Bruins, who had suffered a few late game collapses in the last few games. The team was determined to not let history repeat itself and knocked down several clutch shots down the stretch to hold on for a 67-57 victory. 

"We definitely wanted to get off that losing train," Coach LeViere said. "Honestly though the wins and losses count but I am more concerned with how we played. We know we weren't really 'us' tonight and we know we can do better. We obviously want to win, but we know we can do better and we can play better. Having said that, it was a good team effort and we beat a good team tonight."  

Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 13 points and 8 rebounds while Sydney Bedsaul had 11 points and Maggi Ford had 10. Bridgette Gleed had a solid game in rebounding as she snagged 11 boards for the team in the game. The Bruins got an impressive 35 points from the bench and the team won the rebounding margin 44-28. With the win, the Bruins snap their 3-game losing streak and are 5-4 on the season. Next up, the team will welcome their first region opponent as they battle Southern Wesleyan University on Friday night.