The Lady Bruins basketball team took the lead with 20 seconds left in the first quarter and never looked back as the team defeated Johnson University 69-51 on Saturday afternoon. 

The Royals couldn't contain the backcourt play of Bhrianna Jackson and Hannah Tompkins as the duo protected the ball and hounded the Johnson University guards into 17 turnovers on the night. Hannah Tompkins was the Bruins leading scorer with 15 points. She also contributed with 5 assists, 6 rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot. Jackson added 6 points and 2 steals while trying to navigate foul trouble. Sha'Ron Brunson also had a stellar game, tallying 13 points and 5 rebounds in the game.

"I think we got into a better offensive groove, slowed the pace down, and began to control the pace of the game," Brunson said. "We took our time and things began to open up for us on the offensive side."

The Royals jumped out to a quick lead, but Bruins guard Sydney Bedsaul reclaimed the lead with a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the first quarter. The Bruins out-rebounded the Royals 52-37 in the contest, and used their post play to feed their shooters as they continued to increase their lead. The Royals came battling back with a late run, but the Bruins took a 33-30 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Bruins continued to play great defense holding the Royals to a 26.4% shooting performance. Sha'Ron Brunson locked down Royals guard Tiffany Smelcer in the second half after Smelcer hit 3 threes to open the game. The Bruins also had 8 steals in the game and kept the defensive pressure all the way up for all four quarters.

"We helped on the back door much better tonight, even in the 2-3 zone we picked up the cutters very well," Bruins' Sarah Thomsen said. "We changed it up a couple times defensively tonight, so that they never knew what was coming."

The Royals couldn't climb back into the game as the Bruins played well on both sides of the ball and got their first win of the regular season. Coach Leviere was impressed with the way the team played against a good shooting Johnson team. 

"I was really happy with our defense," Coach LeViere said. "We set the tone right away with rebounding in the first half. Our turnover margin was great as well. Even though our shooting wasn't the greatest, we were doing those small things well and got the job done."

With the win, the Bruins improved to 1-1 on the season. Next up, the Lady Bruins will welcome Washington Adventist University on Tuesday November 5th.