Sarah Thomsen led the Bruins with 23 points as the team captured their first win of the season with an 82-50 victory over Georgia Northwestern Technical College on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tennessee.
"Even though we didn't play great in the 1st half, we came out and played well defensively in the second half which set the tone for the rest of the game," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "Once we took care of the ball and gave ourselves a look at the basket, we took good shots and were able to knock them down."
The Bruins were coming off a late night on Friday night as the team fell to Hiwassee College. Roughly fourteen hours later, the Bruins were back on the court as they took on the Bobcats who came into the game at 1-2 on the season.
Gracen Ledford knocked down a three for the Bruins as the team was off and running with an early lead. The Bobcats answered right back to keep the score close, but the Bruins did a good job of working the ball inside and getting to the free throw line to keep the upper hand. With just over three minutes to play in the quarter, the Bobcats battled back to take the lead but Sarah Thomsen answered with back to back threes to spark a run as the Bruins ended the first quarter up 24-18.
In the second quarter, Madison Shupe helped extend the lead as she knocked down a three early on to give the Bruins a 29-20 lead. Shupe would add another three later on in the quarter followed by a Rachel Clark three as the Bruins began to stretch their lead 37-23. The Bobcats made a late quarter run to go into the half, but the Bruins still lead by double-digits 38-28.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out strong as they went on a 9-0 run to begin the quarter to go up 47-28. The team had found their rhythm as shots were falling on the outside while Delaney Edwards and the Bruins post players were effective in the paint. Defensively, the Bruins forced the Bobcats to turn the ball over which resulted in transition points on the other end. Shupe sparked a late quarter run to blow the game open as the Bruins led 59-37 with just one quarter to play.
With the game decided, the Bruins kept the pressure on as Sarah Thomsen knocked down back to back threes again to increase the lead. The Bobcats couldn't seem to slow the Bruins as BJU went on to win convincingly 82-50.
Sarah Thomsen had seven three-pointers on the day, shooting 47% from beyond the arc. Madison Shupe also had a strong day for the Bruins with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman Delaney Edwards nearly had a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds in a solid performance in the post. The Bruins dominated the rebounding margin 44-24 as the team moves to 1-2 on the season.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road next weekend in LaGrange, Georgia for three games. First, the team will face LaGrange College on Thursday night. The tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
