Box Score
The Lady Bruins clawed their way to a home win on Monday night as the team defeated Piedmont International University 79-67. The win snaps the team's five-game losing streak as the team improves to 5-10 on the season.
"As a coach you can nitpick at times and focus on the negative but we are playing college basketball so I was glad to see our team get the 'W' tonight," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "Ultimately our rebounding and defense needed to be better. We came out soft but were able to make adjustments and got key contributions from several players tonight."
From the opening tip, Piedmont jumped out with back to back baskets as they forced the Bruins into several turnovers. Sarah Thomsen kept the Bruins in it as the junior guard hit three three-point shots in the opening quarter. Madison Shupe came in off the bench and made an immediate impact as she seven points in the quarter to help the Bruins gain a 27-18 lead after one. "I wanted to get everyone pumped up," Shupe said. "Sometimes we start out soft and I wanted to come in and wake them up a bit."
In the second quarter, the Bruins picked up where they left off as freshman Faith Hart knocked down a three to increase the lead. The Bruins defense forced several turnovers which ignited fastbreak points. Several short runs by PIU were met with points from the Bruins as BJU took a 46-31 lead into the half.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out looking to extend their lead but it was PIU who was able to capitalize offensively as they chipped away at the lead. Amaya Scott had a monster game for PIU as she finished with 24 points and 7 assists in the game. The Piedmont run helped them battle all the way back and after a layup by Scott to end the quarter, PIU trailed 56-52 with just one quarter to play.
In the final frame, PIU looked to overtake the lead but Sarah Thomsen again came up with a big three to keep the Bruins on top. The Bruins were also able to take advantage of free throw opportunities as the team shot 74% on the night from the line. With just over three minutes to play, Faith Hart helped put the game out of reach with several baskets down the stretch as she finished with 19 points to help the Bruins defeat PIU 79-67.
"I wanted to help my team because it is a team effort," Hart said after the win. "We talked a lot tonight to each other and kept communicating to have each other's back."
Hart was just one of four players in double figures as Sarah Thomsen finished with 17 points, Madison Shupe with 13 and Kylee Leffew with 10. Next up, the Bruins will play their first region game of the 2017-18 season as they welcome Trinity College of Florida on Saturday afternoon.
