The Lady Bruins had their championship hopes dashed on Saturday afternoon as the team came up just short with a 71-69 loss to #1 seeded Pensacola Christian College. Although the Bruins challenged several times throughout the game, the Eagles proved to be too much as PCC captured their second-straight NCCAA DII South Region Championship.
"I told our team after the game that our success is not only defined by the scoreboard," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "To overcome the environment we were in, erase a 14-point deficit in the second half and almost come back and win the game shows a tremendous amount of character from our team."
The Bruins came into the region tournament as the #2 seed and won their semifinal game on Friday night with a victory over #3 seeded Trinity Baptist College. The Eagles came into the game after a dominant victory over #4 seeded Toccoa Falls College in the region semifinal. The Eagles and Bruins met twice before this season with each team winning on their opponent's home floor. Today, the winner would walk out of the Arlin R. Horton Sports Center Arena champion of the NCCAA DII South Region.
From the opening tip, the Bruins and Eagles went back and forth trading baskets as the score remained close in the early stages of the first quarter. The Bruins were able to spread the ball around as they worked for open looks. As a result, the scoring spread was all around with several players getting involved. Defensively, the Bruins were able to force tough looks but the Eagles used their bigger size to extend possessions and get open looks. As the first quarter came to a close, the Bruins trailed the Eagles 17-15.
In the second quarter, the Bruins came roaring back as Madison Shupe hit back to back three point shots. This sparked a rally as Sydney Bedsaul and Rachel Clark also hit three-pointers to help the Bruins go on a 12-0 run and take a 27-20 lead. The Eagles came right back as baskets by Emma Hardy and Jessica Boyd tied the game at 27-27. The Eagles took momentum into the break as Sandy McElhaney scored to give PCC a 30-27 lead at the break.
As the second half began, Bedsaul hit another three for the Bruins but the Eagles kept the upper hand as they continued to answer on the offensive end. At the midway point of the quarter, the Bruins shooting went cold and the Eagles took advantage as three-pointers by Emma Hardy and Hailey Sailors helped the Eagles build a 50-36 lead. Jessiann Wiedmann was able to cut into the deficit as she hit a three right before the end of the third quarter to make it 51-42.
With just ten minutes to play, the Bruins had a lot of ground to make up if they hoped to capture their second region championship in the past three seasons. The one-two punch of Sarah Thomsen and Sydney Bedsaul fueled the Bruins in the opening of the fourth quarter as the pair was able to hit open shots. Defensively, the Bruins were able to limit the Eagles and took away rebounds to cut possessions short.
Thomsen and Shupe hit back to back three pointers with under four minutes to go as the Bruins battled back to trail 66-63. On the next possession, Jessica Boyd hit a clutch three for the Eagles as they pushed their lead to 69-63. The Bruins tried to mount one last run, but Madison Shupe's three pointer scored with just over a second remaining and the Bruins didn't get another possession as the Eagles held on for a 71-69 win.
"I'm really proud of our team," Coach LeViere said. "I can't say enough about how they played and the determination they showed in this game. The scoreboard shows we lost due to the fact that we scored 2 points less, but I think our team was extremely successful today."
Sydney Bedsaul led the Bruins with 17 points while shooting 56% from the field. Madison Shupe hit five three pointers over the course of the game to finish with 15 points and 7 rebounds. As a team, the Bruins were a perfect 12-12 on free throws while 41% from three point range in the game as a team.
Although the team is disappointed in the result, they will return to Greenville as they prepare for the upcoming NCCAA DII National Tournament. The Lady Bruins will receive the host bid for the tournament and will await final seeding by the NCCAA championship committee. The team has been among the top-five in division II for much of the season.
