Box Score
Despite trailing by just six points at halftime, the Lady Bruins couldn't finish the upset as University of South Carolina Upstate won 79-45 on Thursday night in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The loss is the 3rd straight for the Lady Bruins as the team falls to 3-6 on the season.
"We had a great first half by playing good defense and forcing them to shoot over us," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "The effort was there and we showed we could compete with them but to succeed at this level you have to execute well the entire game and we didn't do that tonight."
In the opening quarter, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead after a Sydney Bedsaul three-pointer gave the team a 5-2 advantage. The Spartans responded as they stormed back to lead 16-10 thanks to hot shooting from the outside. The Bruins climbed back into it thanks to a three-point play by Faith Hart as the team trailed USC Upstate 16-15 at the end of the first.
The Bruins were able to work the ball inside in the 2nd quarter as Julia Simmons and Kylee Leffew scored inside the paint. Still, the Spartans matched the Bruins bucket for bucket as they maintained a slim lead. Upstate was able to take advantage of transition points as several Bruin turnovers opened opportunity for fast break points for the Spartans. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bruins remained within striking distance 30-24.
"We had a couple mistakes in leaving some of their shooters open but otherwise everyone executed their defensive assignment well," Coach LeViere said.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out looking to comeback and take the lead. Instead, the Spartans went on a 9-0 run while the Bruins shooting went cold as BJU shot just 7% from beyond the arc in the quarter. The team struggled in maintaining possession as well as they committed nine turnovers which led to fast break points for the Spartans. The 3rd quarter struggles turned the score lopsided as the Spartans led 56-30 with just one quarter to play.
In the 4th quarter, Julia Simmons helped power the Bruins with good play defensively while also being a good force on the boards. Sarah Thomsen was limited by the Spartan defense as the junior guard scored just four points in the game on 1-9 shooting from the field. The Bruins tried to claw their way back into the game, but the Spartans up-tempo pace was too much to overcome as Upstate defeated BJU 79-45.
"We need to maintain our focus and intensity in executing what we need to do on both ends of the floor," Coach LeViere said. "We don't have any time to rest as we're back on the court again tomorrow but thankful to get through these games so far without injury and having a good learning experience."
Rachel Clark led the Bruins with 7 points and 7 rebounds on the night while Julia Simmons finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds. The Bruins didn't have one player score in double figures as the team shot just 26% from the floor in the game and 15% from three-point range.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again Friday night as the play Piedmont International University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
