The Bruins fell to rival Pensacola Christian College on Friday night in the Davis Field House as the Eagles hit 16 three-point shots en route to a 74-52 win. Tamrah Konieczka led the Bruins with a double-double on the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 0-3 to begin the season and 0-1 in South Region play.
"We really focused on areas we needed to improve in," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "Our effort was there tonight. We rebounded well and our assist ratio was good. You hate to lose, but we did do a lot of things well and showed improvement."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a loss earlier in the week to Carolina Christian College. The team was looking to bounce back as they welcomed the Eagles who came into the game at 7-2 overall. The last time these two teams met, the Bruins defeated the Eagles to win the NCCAA DII South Region Championship. The Bruins were hopeful to get another win against the Eagles as both teams took the floor.
In the opening minutes, the Eagles came out strong as Sandy McElhaney knocked down three straight three pointers for PCC to help build a 12-4 lead. The Bruins battled back thanks to layups inside from Delaney Edwards and Tamrah Konieczka as the team cut the lead to 12-8.
The Eagles came right back as threes from Elise Cauthen and Holland Guisler extended the lead. The Bruins got a spark to end the quarter as Bethany Daulton chased down an offensive rebound with seconds remaining and Gracen Ledford hit a three to help the Bruins trail 19-12 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bruins picked up where they left off as a three-point play from Charsie Johnson helped the team narrow the gap 21-17. The two teams traded baskets before Bethany Daulton knocked down a three as the Bruins trailed 23-22. Again, the Eagles came up with key shots as McElhaney hit another of her five threes in the game to extend the lead as PCC kept the upper hand. The Bruins tried to keep pace but found themselves trailing 41-30 at halftime.
As the second half began, Tamrah Konieczka scored on a layup as the Bruins looked to claw their way back into the game. But each time the Bruins would inch closer, the Eagles would respond with key baskets as they continued to keep the lead. With just under four minutes to play in the quarter, PCC hit two threes to spark an 8-0 run and rode that momentum to close the quarter strong to lead 60-44 at the end of the third.
With just one quarter to play, the Bruins were within striking distance but needed a spark. Freshman Brittany Williams hit back to back shots in the paint while Konieczka added another basket to help the Bruins battle back 62-50. Again the Eagles responded as Lauran Alvarez made a shot in the paint and Hope Baker hit a three to push the lead to 67-52. From there, the Eagles never looked back as they went on to win the game 74-52.
"We want to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday," Coach LeViere said. "We can't control the opponent or how they shoot but we have to take care of what we can control. We rebounded well and played defense really well and we know our shooting will improve as we continue this season."
The Eagles shot 46% from three-point range and 45% from the field while the Bruins shot 29% from the field in the game. Tamrah Konieczka led the Bruins with the first double-double of her career with the team while Brittany Williams finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Next up, the Bruins will be back home on Tuesday night as they welcome Carolina University. Tip-off for the game is set for 5 p.m.
