Box Score
Costly turnovers and poor defensive play crippled the Lady Bruins on Tuesday night as the team suffered a tough 67-56 road loss to Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee.
"We couldn't stop them defensively," Bruins Coach Mike LeViere said. "You can't win on the scoreboard if you don't get stops defensively especially when you are on the road."
The two teams had met earlier in the season in Greenville with the Bruins taking a 69-51 victory. The team has played well of late, but dropped two of their last three as they took the court against the Royals. If the road environment wasn't tough enough, the Lady Bruins knew the game would be that much more difficult as they would be without forward Amanda Bates due to injury.
Johnson University started the game well on an 8-0 run as they took momentum right from opening tip. Royals forward Brianna Miniard presented problems all night for the Bruins defense as they continued to build their lead. Offensively, the Bruins couldn't seem to hit their shots as the team ended the first quarter trailing 17-6.
In the second quarter, the Bruins shots began to fall but the Royals matched them basket for basket to maintain the lead. Defensively, the Bruins couldn't slow down the Royals play in the post as JU scored high percentage shots and kept possessions going with offensive rebounds. As the half ended, the Bruins knew they needed a spark as the team trailed 41-27 at the break.
The Bruins came out with energy to start the third quarter as Hannah Tompkins provided the scoring touch offensively while snagging boards defensively to help the team begin their comeback. But the Royals offense continued to take advantage of BJU turnovers and defensive mistakes as they took a 56-44 lead into the final quarter.
With just one quarter to play, the Bruins desperately tried to claw their way back into the game. Although the team continued to battle, their efforts and intensity were matched each possession as the Royals were determined to take the game. The final buzzer handed the Lady Bruins a tough 67-56 loss.
"We can't turn the ball over and get outrebounded and still expect to win," Coach LeViere said. "With out limited personnel, I was happy with how some of our players played and we got some good contributions from several. We'll continue to work hard to improve."
Hannah Tompkins led the Bruins with a double double as the senior guard scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds. Sarah Thomsen played a great game defensively for the team as she had 13 points to go along with 3 blocks and 5 steals. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 4-5 on the season.
Next up, the Lady Bruins will be on the road again Thursday night as they battle Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina.
