The Bruins basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the team picked up their first win of the season on Friday night with a 71-43 victory over Agnes Scott College. Kylee Leffew led the Bruins with 15 points and 5 rebounds in the win.
"This was a solid win for us tonight," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "I am very happy with the team effort. Our biggest improvement was with our defense. We had really good off the ball recognition which lead to good help defense and a lot of deflections."
The Bruins came into the game after dropping their season opener on the road to Johnson University (TN) on Saturday. The team was looking to bounce back as they took the court against the Scotties who were playing their home opener for the season.
As the game began, the two teams traded baskets with the score remaining close. Madison Shupe knocked down a three for the Bruins early on to help the team lead 7-4. Defensively, the Bruins played well forcing the Scotties into tough looks. The team got a boost from Charsie Johnson as the junior guard hit a three and a layup to help the Bruins lead 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bruins caught fire as the team went on a 12-0 run thanks to great defensive pressure. Kylee Leffew scored points in the paint as the team continued to stretch their lead. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had exploded for 26 second-quarter points as they took a commanding 42-16 lead into halftime.
The Scotties looked to claw their way back into the game as Shay Sweat hit a three to start the half. The Bruins responded with back to back baskets from Gracen Ledford and Kylee Leffew as they kept their lead. The Bruins were able to force 21 turnovers in the game thanks to tremendous defensive pressure. This turned into points offensively as the Bruins went into the final quarter up 56-30.
With the game out of reach, the Bruins kept up the pressure as they continued to work the ball around to open shooters. Freshman Jody Bates had a near double-double for the Bruins as she finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds in her season debut.
The Scotties tried to make one last run to get back into the game, but back to back threes from Ledford and Shupe solidified a dominant performance as the Bruins defeated Agnes Scott College 71-43.
"Our freshman and sophomores really came in and performed well tonight," Coach LeViere said. "You never know if a player is going to come in and have stage fright in their first game and our players definitely looked confident tonight. That will really help make us deep as these younger players keep developing."
The Bruins dominated the rebounding margin 50-32 while shooting 42% from the field for the game. Kylee Leffew's 15 points and 5 rebounds led the Bruins but Gracen Ledford also finished with 12 points. With the win, the Bruins improve to 1-1 on the season.
Next up, the Bruins will be back in action on the road on Saturday as they face Maryville College in Decatur, Georgia.
