The Lady Bruins had their three-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night as the team fell to Brevard College 54-39 in Greenville, South Carolina. The Bruins struggled to maintain possession as the team committed 25 turnovers in the game, dropping their record back to .500 on the year at 10-10.
"It was really frustrating because we played a great defensive game," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "In some of the quarters we had as many turnovers as we did field goal attempts. We weren't strong enough to stop that tonight and stop the downward spiral. We had very few bright spots and it was a tough night for us offensively."
The Bruins came into the game on a hot streak winning five of their last six games. The Tornados came into the game on a high note after the team had snapped their five-game losing streak with a win over LaGrange on Saturday. The two teams met earlier this season with the Tornados edging the Bruins 64-57 in Brevard, North Carolina.
From the opening tip, the Bruins struggled to find their rhythm as they turned the ball over on three straight possessions to open the game. Still, the Bruins were able to keep the game close thanks to a good defensive effort in the first quarter. Their shooting woes continued as the Bruins scored just five points in the opening quarter but only trailed 9-5 at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, the Tornados began to capitalize on their open opportunities as they pushed their lead to 15-7 thanks to a three by Ty'She Washington. The Bruins tried to keep pace but turnovers continued to give extra possessions to the Tornados.
With just under four minutes to play in the half, Madison Shupe hit her first three of the game and the Bruins roared back to trail 22-19. Unfortunately, the Bruins didn't close out the half well as the Tornados hit a three followed by a wide open layup as time expired as the Bruins trailed 30-21 at the break.
As the second half began, the Bruins hoped to shake off their first half struggles and get back into the game. Instead, the Bruins committed three-straight turnovers which allowed the Tornados to stretch their lead. The Bruins weren't able to close the gap as each shot was answered by a basket for Brevard as the third quarter ended with the Bruins trailing 41-28.
The Tornados came out looking to put the Bruins away in the fourth quarter as they went on a 10-2 run to take a commanding lead. The Bruins tried to fight back, but couldn't get into a rhythm offensively due to turnovers. As a result, the team could only muster six points in the final quarter as they fell to the Tornados 54-39.
"We really beat ourselves tonight," Coach LeViere said. "This process of the season is that we want to be better tomorrow than we were today. Our players are going to need to have a short memory and we need to learn from our mistakes. This is a resiliant group and we're going to go back to the drawing board and look to get better."
Gracen Ledford led the Bruins with 12 points and 4 rebounds while Rachel Clark added 10 points and played a great defensive game. The Bruins were able to hold the Tornados to just 27% shooting from three and 38% overall, but turnovers allowed Brevard to put the game out of reach.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road this weekend as they play a key region matchup against Pensacola Christian College. Tip-off for the game is set for 2 p.m.
