Box Score
The Lady Bruins fought to the end, but came up just short as they fell to Brevard College 73-65 on Tuesday night in Brevard, North Carolina. "We played maybe our best game of the year tonight," Coach Mike LeViere said. "We had a great effort by our team and I am proud of how hard our players worked."
The Bruins entered the game with a 3-2 record having won three of their last four. The Tornadoes were welcoming the Bruins as their first home game of the season, having dropped their opening game to UNC Greensboro 77-34.
Sha'Ron Brunson and Sarah Thomsen each knocked down a three-point shot to begin the game as the Bruins came roaring out of the gate for an 8-2 advantage. The Tornadoes responded with some hot three-point shooting of their own as they battled their way back into the game. Brunson and Thomsen again fueled the Bruins offense as the team closed out the first quarter strong with a 17-10 lead.
In the second quarter, the Bruins' shooting stayed red-hot as the team stretched to their biggest lead of the game 24-12. But again, the Tornadoes put together small runs to dig into the Bruins lead. Sydney Bedsaul knocked down a three point shot to help propel the Bruins to a 33-29 lead at the half.
As the second half began, the Tornadoes came out determined to play better in front of their hometown fans. They knocked down several open looks, and limited the Bruins offensively as Brevard College fought back to take the lead. The energy of the building was again high as the fans rallied the Tornadoes to close out the third quarter with a 46-41 lead over BJU.
With one quarter to go, both teams knew this one would come down to the wire. The Bruins went on a run as Hannah Tompkins and company knocked down several shots from the outside to take a 54-53 lead. The Tornadoes then went on a run of their own as they retook the lead and stretched it to a double digit advantage. Brevard seemingly couldn't miss from the field in the final minutes as they held on for a 73-65 win.
"They shot lights out in that final quarter," Coach LeViere said. "I think we got a little tired, but we worked extremely hard in this game. We'll learn from this as we work towards our next game."
Sha'Ron Brunson had a great overall game for the Bruins with 13 points, 5 assists and 4 steals in the game. Sydney Bedsaul also had 13 points while Sarah Thomsen finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds. With the loss, the Lady Bruins fall to 3-3 on the season.
Next up, the Bruins will battle North Greenville University on Thursday night in Tigerville, South Carolina.
