The Bruins are heading back to the NCCAA DII South Region Championship for the third straight season after the team upset #2 seeded Trinity Baptist College 63-52 in the semifinal on Friday afternoon in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. Tamrah Konieczka led the Bruins with 21 points and 14 rebounds in the win.
"We started the game really well and were ready to play today," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "The exciting thing from this game is that we just beat a really good team and can walk away knowing we can play a lot better."
The Bruins came into the region tournament after earning the #3 seed as the team closed out the regular season winning four of their last five games. Trinity Baptist came into the game at 8-6 overall, having won five of their last six games.
Earlier this season, the Bruins and Eagles met in Greenville with TBC edging BJU 59-54. This was the first win for the Eagles over the Bruins since the 2012 season. As both teams took the court, each knew only one would advance to the region championship.
The Bruins came out strong from the opening tip as Tamrah Konieczka hit a three to help spark a 7-0 run for BJU. The Eagles came back with a run of their own but the Bruins maintained the upper hand thanks to great ball movement and converting on their open opportunities. As the quarter came to a close, Delaney Edwards and Bethany Daulton hit back to back threes to give the Bruins a 19-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bruins picked up where they left off as they pushed the tempo to gain points in the paint and increase their lead. Still, the Eagles remained within striking distance as they rode the scoring touch of Jaela Green who finished with 11 points in the first half for TBC.
Tamrah Konieczka hit her third three of the half as the second quarter was coming to a close to give the Bruins a 30-20 lead. The Eagles responded by closing out the half on a run as the Bruins led 30-26 at halftime.
As the second half began, the Bruins again came out strong as another three by Konieczka and a layup from Jessiann Wiedmann extended the lead 35-26. The Bruins were able to stretch their lead to double-digits thanks to great rebounding and defensive play which turned into transition points on the offensive end. Delaney Edwards knocked down another three to help the Bruins take a commanding 50-35 lead into the final quarter.
With just one quarter to play, the Bruins came out looking to put the game out of reach as Tamrah Konieczka and Bethany Daulton each hit threes to push the lead to 56-41. The Eagles refused to back down and came roaring back on a to trail 59-50 with just under two minutes to play.
The Bruins were able to use good clock management and make their free throw chances down the stretch as they held on to win the game 63-52 and advance to the region championship.
"We didn't play our best and had too many turnovers," Coach LeViere said. "That said, we won the rebounding battle and played great defense which resulted in lowering their field goal percentage. We came out strong from the start and didn't look back. We're looking to be better and are excited to play in the region championship again this season."
Tamrah Konieczka led the Bruins with a double-double as the junior hit six threes for the Bruins in the game. Delaney Edwards finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds while Shea Dickinson had 9 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Next up, the Bruins will await the winner of the other semifinal game between #1 Pensacola Christian College and #4 Johnson University (FL). The region championship game will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.
