The Bruins basketball team dug themselves an early hole and couldn't recover as the team fell to Welch College 67-58 on Saturday afternoon in the Davis Field House. Delaney Edwards had 26 points and 7 rebounds in the loss as the team falls to 2-2 on the season.
"We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot," Bruins Head Women's Basketball Coach Mike LeViere said. "I was most disappointed in our defense. Our demeanor was off as well and kudos to Welch as they took us out of our game and played really well."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a big win on Friday night as the team used a late run to defeat Carolina University 64-55. The Flames came into Saturday's matchup at 1-2 on the season after falling to Grace Christian last weekend. As the two teams took the court, the Bruins hoped to finish the weekend with a win.
From the opening tip, the two teams traded baskets before Macey Bowman and Emma Wall hit back to back buckets to give the Flames a 9-5 lead. Bowman hit another three to extend the lead while the Bruins offense began to struggle as turnovers by BJU allowed Welch to pull away. As a result, the Flames took a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The turnover struggles continued in the second quarter as the Bruins continued to give the ball away which resulted in points for the Flames. The Bruins trailed by as much as 25 points before Delaney Edwards knocked down a shot to stop a 6 minute scoring drought for the Bruins. As the first half came to a close, the Bruins had battled back but still found themselves trailing 35-20 at the half.
In the second half, the Bruins looked to come out and shake off their first-half struggles but turnovers again proved to be costly for BJU. Still, the team kept the score close thanks to the scoring touch of Delaney Edwards as the team slowly chipped away at the lead. As the third quarter came to a close, the Bruins still trailed 54-39.
With just one quarter to play, the Bruins knew they would need to be better offensively while limiting the Flames scoring chances. Bethany Daulton knocked down a three for the Bruins before Delaney Edwards and Gracen Ledford made back to back shots as the Bruins went on a run to cut into the lead. The Flames continued to answer back as they maintained their double-digit lead behind Abby Bragg's double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bruins tried to mount one last rally as Bailey Green scored in the paint before Tamrah Konieczka hit a three as the team trailed 58-51 with just over 5 minutes to play. Again, the Flames answered right back as they made key shots down the stretch to hold on for a 67-58 win.
"We'll watch some film and hopefully be better from this," Coach LeViere said. "We did a good job of not giving up and battling back in the game. Our shot quality improved and we outrebounded them in the second half but we need to rest and recoup and come ready to play on Tuesday."
The Bruins had 22 turnovers in the game while shooting just 33% from the floor and 13% from three-point range. Delaney Edwards and Gracen Ledford were the only players to score in double-figures as the late rally came up short.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Tuesday as the team faces Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina.
