Box Score For the second time this season, the Bluefield State College Blues snapped the Lady Bruins winning streak as the team defeated BJU 105-46 on Thursday night in West Virginia.
"We knew we had to play really well to compete with this team," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We struggled with turnovers and definitely didn't shoot the ball well. When you combine those two things, it is a recipe for a long night."
The Bruins and Blues met earlier this season in Greenville, with Bluefield State walking away with a 68-39 win. The Bruins came into Bluefield with a 15-11 record, having won their previous 6 games. The Blues entered the game on a hot streak as well as the team had won 6 of their last 7 games.
In the opening minutes, the two teams went back and forth before Shakima Wiggins and the Lady Blues began to capitalize on the Bruins mistakes to jump out to a 20-8 lead. The Bruins tried to respond but shot just 10% from behind the arc in the 1st half to go along with 17 turnovers committed. The Blues continued to pour it on as their up-tempo style play ran circles around the Bruins defense. At the half, the Blues had a commanding 66-29.
"They dominated inside and defensively," Coach LeViere said. "They shot the ball really well and did a good job of drawing our defense out to create one-on-one opportunities for their players in the post."
The second half yielded much of the same for the Bruins as the team continued to struggle with turnovers to go along with shooting just 25% from the floor including 11% from 3-point range. The Blues had four players score in double figures as they ran away with the game in a 105-46 win.
"We just didn't have an answer for them defensively," Coach LeViere said. "But we'll put this one behind us and move on and get ready for the next one."
Kendra Jeffcott was the only player in double figures for the Bruins with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Kourtney Hoefler had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Despite being under-sized, the Bruins narrowly lost the rebounding battle 44-40. The key stat for the Bruins offensive struggles was in the team's 30 turnovers throughout the game which translated to 42 points for the Blues. With the loss, the team falls to 15-12 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again as they play Warren Wilson College on Tuesday night.
