Box Score
Despite leading throughout the 1st half, the Lady Bruins dreams of a regional championship came up just short as the tem fell to Southern Wesleyan University 70-60 on Friday night.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We showed we belong here at this level and we didn't go quietly. Coming back like we did tonight shows a lot of who our team is. It hurts for the seniors to go out this way, but they have built such a great foundation for our program to build on."

 

The Bruins entered the championship game after coming off a thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory over Columbia International University on Thursday night. The Warriors had a unbelievable victory of their own as the team knocked off #1 seeded Emmanuel College in overtime. The Bruins and Warriors met twice this season with the teams splitting the season series 1-1. Both teams had visions of a region championship in their sights as they took the court in Central, South Carolina.

In the opening minutes, the Bruins came out hot from beyond the arc as Maggi Ford and Hannah Tompkins each knocked down a three to help the Bruins jump out to a 8-4 advantage. The Warriors began to claw their way back into the game but Hannah Tompkins continued to knock down shots from inside and outside to help keep the lead. Tompkins had 13 first-half points for the Bruins as the team edged that much closer to the victory.

Brianna Delaney banked home a layup to give the Bruins their largest lead of the game at 24-15. From there, the Warriors began to heat up from the outside as a barrage of three pointers helped SWU get back into the game. Christiana Perkins knocked down a three to complete the comeback and give the Warriors their first lead of the game 26-24. The Warriors continued to ride their hot shooting as the team finished the half with a 8-0 run to go into the locker room up 36-27.

"We passed and found the open person well on offense," Coach LeViere said. "We were able to handle their pressure and we have to give credit to them. They shot the ball really well to take the lead. We couldn't complain much. We outrebounded them and were playing well."

In the second half, the Warriors came out with suffocating defense to force two straight turnovers which turned into a 5-0 run for SWU as the Bruins continued to trail. Despite their possession struggles, the Bruins continued to battle and tried to make adjustments to get back into the game. Abby Conover helped the team mount a late half charge as she knocked down two three-pointers in the 2nd half to help the Bruins cut the score to 39-46. The team was in striking distance and eventually worked the score to trail 59-64 with just over 2 minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the Bruins would score just 1 more point the remainder of the game as the Warriors held on for a 70-60 victory over BJU.

"We didn't lose this game, SWU won it," Coach LeViere said. "They shot the ball really well and just played better than we did. We had great bench play and handled their defensive pressure the best we ever have. It definitely hurts to lose but we can know we played well and did the best we could on the court."

Hannah Tompkins led the Bruins with 15 points while Maggi Ford and Kourtney Hoefler each scored 10. The Bruins won the rebounding margin 37-31. With the loss, the Lady Bruins end their season at 18-14.

Bruin nation says a fond farewell to the four seniors who will be graduating from this year's team: Bre Bullard, Abby Conover, Faith Henry and Kourtney Hoefler.