Box Score
Kendra Jeffcott made history and the Lady Bruins gave their seniors one last home win in a 53-50 victory over Southern Wesleyan University on Saturday night. "It's super special to play college basketball and very few people get that opportunity," Bruins senior captain Kourtney Hoefler said. "But even fewer have the opportunity to play for the Bruins and I have had that. It has been awesome. It is sad but it is great to have something I am going to miss so much."

 

The Bruins entered their last home game of the season with a 16-13 record and were riding momentum on a 77-39 road victory over Warren Wilson College on Tuesday night. The Warriors came into the game with a 7-18 record, but the team had struggled as of late losing 13 of their last 14 games. The Davis Field House was out in full voice as Bruin nation wanted to have one last home win this season.

In the opening minutes, both teams struggled to put points on the board as the Bruins went over 6 minutes before their first field goal was scored. The Warriors had similar shooting struggles as the team managed to shoot just 16% in the 1st half including shooing 0% from 3-point range. The Bruins eventually began to control the pace of the game as Kendra Jeffcott and company began to knock down their open looks. The team was able to play suffocating defense and really limited the Warriors opportunities. At the half, the Bruins held a 20-13 lead.

"Offensively in the first half we struggled to convert," Coach LeViere said. "We knew we were playing good defense and we weren't taking bad shots in the first half, they just were not falling."

In the second half, the Bruins were determined to capitalize on their offensive opportunities. Maggi Ford got things going for the Bruins as she knocked down a three-point shot to open the scoring for the half and give the team their first double-digit lead. Later on, Kendra Jeffcott helped to extend that lead by knocking down a jump shot to give her 1,000 career points as the Bruins led 37-18.

The Warriors refused to quit and began to pressure the Bruins into turnovers and took advantage as they began to chip away at the Bruins lead. As the half wore on, the Warriors edged closer and closer to overtaking the Bruins. After a made jump shot by Bri Seda, the Warriors had come all the way back to be down just 48-45. The Bruins maintained their composure as Hannah Tompkins went 4-4 down the stretch from the free throw line to help the Bruins hold on for a 53-50 victory.

"The team all contributed at different times to come away with the win," Coach LeViere said. "A few years ago we had a really strong group of sophomores and it has been neat to see them mature as basketball players over the last few years to their senior year. They are going to be tough to replace and they are going to leave a big hole to fill. Part of their legacy is setting up their successors to be successful. The success that we have here on out in the future is going to be because of what these ladies did in building the program. It's been a pleasure to coach them and while I am sad to say goodbye, I'm excited to see them take the next step in their lives."

Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 15 points and 9 rebounds while Maggi Ford scored 12 and Hannah Tompkins scored 11. Even though the Bruins committed 28 turnovers, the team was able to win the rebounding margin 37-34 and hold the Warriors to shooting just 26% for the game. With the win, the Bruins end their regular season with a 17-13 record. The team will now await the final seeding as they prepare for the regional tournament coming up in a couple of weeks.