Box Score
The Lady Bruins basketball team turned in another dominant road performance as the team defeated Piedmont International University 83-23 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Tuesday night. With the win, the team moves to 8-10 on the season and 4-0 in region play. Rachel Clark led the Bruins with 19 points to go along with 6 steals on the night. Hannah Tompkins scored 16 while recording 7 assists.
"We had a good team effort tonight," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "We had great patience and found the open person on offense. We were able to work on some defensive schemes that we don't usually run a lot which helped us improve. Our sharing the ball, dominating the glass and not giving up easy looks was the keys to the win tonight."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a tough home loss to Warren Wilson College on Saturday. The team was looking to bounce back as they traveled to North Carolina for the first of two region-bouts with Piedmont. Both teams took the court as the first round of the battle of the Bruins was set to begin.
From the opening tip, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead as the team used defensive stops to fuel their transition play for points on the offensive end. Piedmont struggled to get into an offensive rhythm as they managed only one point in the opening minutes with the Bruins leading PIU 12-1. From there, the Bruins continued to increase their lead as they took a 25-5 lead into the second quarter.
As the second quarter began, the Bruins continued to pour it on as they limited Piedmont offensively and took away each second chance opportunity. The Bruins got great play from Rachel Clark as the freshman guard scored eight second-quarter points to help increase the lead. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bruins took a comfortable 51-8 lead into the halftime break.
With the game well in hand, the Lady Bruins remained crisp in their offensive sets while still forcing Piedmont into turnovers and difficult shots. Madison Shupe and Jana Lehman each dominated the paint for the Bruins as they combined for 19 rebounds on the night. Piedmont couldn't seem to string together any sort of consistent offensive play as they trailed BJU 68-16 going into the final quarter.
It was much of the same in the final frame for both teams as the Bruins continued to work the ball around the perimeter to find an open player for a shot. The team recorded 22 assists on the night while snagging 42 rebounds as a team. The final buzzer secured a dominant victory for the Lady Bruins as they defeated PIU 83-23.
"Our team did what we needed to tonight," Coach LeViere said. "We're happy for the win and now we move on to another tough region game on Friday."
The Lady Bruins have now won two of their last three games and stand at 8-10 on the season. The team is ranked #5 in the country in the latest NCCAA rankings and welcomes another region-rival on Friday night as they battle Pensacola Christian College in Greenville, South Carolina.
