Box Score
The Owls swarmed the Lady Bruins on Tuesday night with a high-pressure defense as Warren Wilson College defeated Bob Jones University 103-72 in Asheville, North Carolina. The loss snaps the Lady Bruins four-game winning streak as the team falls to 10-13 on the season.
"We knew from watching film that this was going to be a difficult matchup for us," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "Warren Wilson is a very scrappy quick team. They like to pressure and we had to be strong with the ball and attack with our head up and find the open person. We got into too much one on one and that's their specialty."
The Bruins defense struggled to slow the Owls as three players scored in double figures with Danasia Dumas leading the way with 31 points for WWC. The Bruins came into the game with several players out due to injury. Still the team had five players in double figures on the night in the loss.
Despite building a 6-5 lead, the Bruins struggled against the full court pressure as the Owls came back to take a 13-9 lead. The Bruins kept pace particularly from the free throw line as the score remained close. At the end of the first quarter, the Bruins trailed the Owls 24-17.
A quick start for the Owls in the second quarter allowed them to extend their lead. The Bruins responded with a 7-0 run but still trailed 31-27. The Owls continued to force the Bruins into turnovers and tough looks as they closed out the half strong to take a 52-38 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Bruins looked to close the gap but the Owls had other plans as the used a 22-7 run in the third quarter to gain a 74-45 lead. The Bruins couldn't find their offensive rhythm as the team shot just 1-9 from beyond the arc in the second half. At the end of the third, the Bruins trailed 81-52.
With the game out of reach, the Bruins still looked to finish the game strong. The team got a spark from their post players as Kylee Leffew and Lauren Smith battled in the paint for points. Leffew also added her touch from the free throw line shooting 8-10 on the night. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had suffered a disappointing loss 103-72.
"There is no excuse for giving up that many points to this team," Coach LeViere said. "We simply had to be better prepared to handle simple man to man pressure and our turnovers led to a lot of easy opportunities for them. I'm sure we'll be better prepared next time."
Sydney Bedsaul and Kylee Leffew each had 14 points while Sarah Thomsen finished with 13. Freshman Lauren Smith had a solid performance with 10 points and 9 rebounds and Madison Shupe also had a near double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
The Bruins committed 24 turnovers on the night which led to multiple easy scoring chances for the Owls. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road this weekend for back to back region games. On Friday afternoon, the team will face Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida.
