Box Score Despite jumping out to an early lead and controlling much of the game, the Lady Bruins fell on the road to Erskine College 74-63. "We just couldn't finish tonight and that was the story of the game," Bruins' coach Mike LeViere said. "It was a good game for us and we played really well. Our shooters missed open threes, we missed a bunch of shots at the rim and by far our worst free-throw shooting performance of the season."
The Bruins had stormed into the second half of the season on a roll, winning three straight games in convincing fashion. The team took their 11-9 record to Due West, South Carolina as they prepared to battle Erskine College. The Flying Fleet came into the game with a 6-9 record, but the team had been on a tear, winning their last 3 games. One team's winning streak would fall tonight as the two teams took the floor at Belk Arena.
The Lady Bruins came out strong in the opening minutes behind the shooting of Maggi Ford as the team jumped out to a 14-2 advantage. The team stood strong defensively as well as the Bruins continued to stay on top. The Flying Fleet eventually fell into a rhythm and began to chip away at the lead as the Bruins finished the 1st quarter up 14-13.
In the second quarter, it was the Fleet who came out strong as they team caught fire behind the shooting of Raygon Hendrix and Kristen Giles to take the lead. The Bruins struggled to score as the team had chances, but couldn't finish in close. At the end of the first half, the Bruins trailed 28-23 after only scoring nine points in the second quarter.
As the second half began, the Bruins were hoping their shooting woes would be corrected as they looked to claw their way back into the game. Kendra Jeffcott helped power the Bruins with a double-double on the night, but still the Fleet continued to keep the advantage. After a three-point shot by Julia Wright, the Bruins trimmed the lead to 38-33 before the Fleet responded with a run to go back up by double digits. The Fleet had a commanding 47-33 lead as the two teams readied for the final quarter of play.
In the 4th quarter, the Fleet built on their lead with a 6-0 run to begin the quarter and never looked back as the Bruins continued to trail. Despite several small runs by BJU in the final quarter, Erskine continued to hold the lead. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had their 3-game winning streak snapped with a 74-63 loss.
"We worked really hard and did so many things well," Coach LeViere said. "We controlled the rebounding, played great defense and didn't turn the ball over. We just couldn't finish and struggled in our shooting."
Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Maggi Ford scored 11 points. Bridgette Gleed dominated the glass and was stellar defensively for the Bruins as she recorded 11 rebounds in the game. Despite shooting just 28% from the floor and 25% from three, the team controlled the rebounding margin 62-54. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 11-10 on the season. Next up, the team returns home to welcome Warren Wilson College on Tuesday night.
