Box Score The Lady Bruins got a big effort from Brianna Delaney and Hannah Tompkins, but the team fell short on Saturday night in a 70-52 loss to North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina.
"We started out well and then just lost our focus," Coach Mike LeViere said. "I felt like we failed to play as a team especially in the 2nd half. We were disjointed and struggled to have any offensive continuity."
The Lady Bruins came into Saturday's game with a 6-7 record after suffering a loss to Southern Wesleyan University on Wednesday night. Their opponent would be the North Greenville University Crusaders who had a season record of 1-5.
Hannah Tompkins provided the slick shooting from the outside as she scored 6 of the Bruins first 10 points en route to a 10-9 lead in the early minutes. The Bruins were also able to find Brianna Delaney in the post as she battled down low for points. As the first quarter ended, the Bruins held an 18-17 advantage.
In the second quarter, the Crusaders slowly overtook the lead and continued to extend behind the shooting of Emily Wampler. The Bruins tried to counter, but each basket was met by multiple baskets for the Crusaders on the other end. The Crusaders closed out the half strong to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.
As the second half began, the Crusaders built to a double-digit lead thanks to a 12-5 run to start the quarter. The Bruins had opportunities to score, but the team missed several opportunities in close to get back into the game. Julia Wright knocked home a three-point shot with just second remaining in the quarter as the Bruins had one last chance to climb back into the game trailing 55-42.
In the final quarter, the Crusaders knocked down a three-point shot to begin the period and continued to stretch the lead as the Bruins couldn't find an answer offensively. The lead eventually reached 20 as the Bruins began to see their chances of a comeback slip away. As the final buzzer sounded, the Crusaders handed the Bruins the loss with a 70-52 victory.
"I didn't feel like this was a good game for us at this time of the year," Coach LeViere said. "We failed to finish at the rim, and lost the rebound battle which is totally out of character for us. We didn't force turnovers. We need to improve and be improving each and every game."
Despite playing limited minutes, Brianna Delaney had a great game for the Bruins with 18 points and 8 rebounds while only recording 11 minutes in the game. Hannah Tompkins also scored 12 while shooting 50% from beyond the arc. The Bruins were edged in the rebounding margin 39-38 as the team falls to 6-8 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will welcome Johnson and Wales University to Greenville on Tuesday night.
