Box Score
The Lady Bruins closed the first half of the season strong as the team defeated Trinity Baptist College 78-35 on Friday afternoon in Jacksonville, Florida. "We played well from start to finish," Bruins Coach Mike LeViere said. "It was a good team victory today and a good way for us to head into the semester break."
The Bruins entered Friday's game in the midst of a 4-game losing streak and were looking to get back on track as they battled the Eagles. This was an important South Region matchup for BJU, with the team entering the game at 1-0 in conference play this season.
As the game began, the Bruins wasted little time as the charged out to an 11-2 advantage. The team was playing strong defensively in forcing many turnovers which turning into transition points on the offensive end. The team also controlled the glass taking away second chance opportunities from the Eagles. Despite a brief run by TBC, the Bruins stayed on top with a 21-14 score at the end of the 1st quarter.
Another opening-quarter run by the Bruins helped the team to increase their lead to double-digits. Hannah Tompkins fueled the Bruins offense with 10 first half points while the Bruins continued to limit the Eagles scoring chances. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bruins took a 36-20 lead into the break.
"We stuck with our game plan in playing good defense, rebounding and working to get good looks offensively," Coach LeViere said. "We had some struggle shooting in the first half, but we were able to dominate the glass which helped us keep and extend the lead."
In the second half, the Bruins picked up where they left off as they again used their dominant defensive play to fuel their offensive attack to stretch the lead. Bruins guards Sha'Ron Brunson and Hannah Tompkins each had double-digits in points while the duo combined for 17 rebounds and 11 assists. As the quarter ended, the Bruins had a commanding 52-30 lead going into the final quarter.
The Bruins showed great patience in their offensive flow throughout the remaining minutes as they worked the ball around for a good shot. Defensively, the Bruins held the Eagles to shooting just 23% from the field throughout the game and 13% from beyond the arc. As the game drew to a close, the Bruins celebrated with a dominant 78-35 victory over the Eagles.
"We did a good job of playing within ourselves, making good decisions and not trying to do too much," Coach LeViere said. "We're heading into the break looking to get healthy and come back even stronger second semester."
Four different Bruins finished in double figures as Sarah Thomsen scored 17, Hannah Tompkins finished with 16, Sha'Ron Brunson with 13 and Kylee Leffew with 10. The Bruins won the rebounding margin in convincing fashion 50-28. With the win, the Bruins improve to 5-8 on the season and 2-0 in region play. The team will head into Christmas break before beginning the second half of their season on January 5.
