Box Score
The Lady Bruins finished their two-day Florida road trip well as the team defeated Trinity College of Florida 88-85 in overtime. The team won back to back region games over the weekend and have now won six of their last seven games.
"This was a battle today," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "We had a number of circumstances which made it very tough on us. We were tired after playing three straight weeks of three games a week. It was a tough environment but I am proud of our team for working hard for the win."
The Bruins and Tigers met earlier in the season in Greenville with the Bruins winning 79-76. The team was coming off a dominant win on Friday afternoon as the Bruins defeated Trinity Baptist College 63-39. The Tigers were out to avenge their earlier season loss as the game was set to begin.
From the opening tip, the Bruins started out well behind the scoring of Sarah Thomsen as the team jumped out to a 9-4 lead. The Tigers came right back as they narrowed the gap with the Bruins leading 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, back to back threes from the Bruins increased their lead to 19-11. The Bruins were able to maintain their upperhand thanks in part to Thomsen's three-point shooting efficiency. Still, the Tigers wouldn't let the game slip away as they clawed their way back narrowing the gap 35-27. The Bruins and Tigers exchanged baskets in the remaining minutes of the half with the Bruins leading 43-39 at the break.
As the third quarter began, the Bruins offense began to find their rhythm as the team worked through their offensive progressions to create open lanes to score. After another three-point bomb by Sarah Thomsen, the Bruins took a commanding 59-41 lead capping a 16-2 run to open the quarter.The Tigers were back on their heels but rode the energy of the hometown crowd to spark an 11-0 run to get right back into the game. As the third quarter came to a close, the Bruins maintained a slim lead 65-57.
With one quarter to play, both teams knew this game would come down to who wanted it more. The Tigers came out strong on a 11-0 run as they battled back to take a 68-65 lead over the Bruins. With time running down, it was the Tigers who continued to maintain a slim lead with just minutes to go. Sha'Ron Brunson made two free throws to give the Bruins a 78-76 lead. The Tigers responded with a bucket in the lane as the score was tied with just 20 seconds to go. The Bruins got one last chance, but Sydney Bedsaul's driving layup didn't go as the game would go to overtime tied 78-78.
Kylee Leffew sparked the Bruins with a quick layup in the overtime period as the Bruins took an 80-78 lead. The Bruins would add another basket before the Tigers scored two-straight to tie the game again at 82-82.
With under a minute to play, the Bruins got a basket to go up 86-84 and then stole the ball and scored on the fast break to take an 88-84 lead. Despite several attempts by the Tigers to draw even, the Bruins defense stood strong as the final buzzer handed them a hard-fought 88-85 overtime win.
Sarah Thomsen led the way for the Bruins as the junior guard had eight threes in the win to score 30 points for the game. With the win, the Bruins improve to 12-13 on the season and 5-1 in region play. Next up, the team will return home for a matchup with Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday night.
