The Bruins fell short in the NCCAA DII South Region Championship on Saturday afternoon as the team lost to #1 seeded Pensacola Christian College 72-68 in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. The Bruins battled back and had the lead in the late stages of the game, but the Eagles rallied to win their third region championship in the last four seasons.
"What a great game to be part of," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "I am really proud of our team. They played great and we know we could have played even better. I told our team in the locker room that we didn't get beat by anyone other than us. Our mistakes are what hurt us in this one."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a win over #2 Trinity Baptist College in the semifinal round. The Eagles advanced to the championship game after a decisive victory over #4 Johnson University (FL) in the semifinal.
The Bruins and Eagles met earlier this season with PCC winning 74-52 in Greenville, South Carolina. For the fourth time in the past five seasons, the Bruins and Eagles met in the region championship as the next chapter of this rivalry was set to be written.
From the opening tip, the Eagels struck first as Jenna Wolford knocked down a three to help PCC jump out to an early 8-3 lead. The Bruins battled back as Shea Dickinson and Tamrah Konieczka scored to cut into the lead. The Eagles closed out the opening quarter strong as Hope Baker and Sandy McElhaney hit back to back threes to help PCC lead BJU 18-7 at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, the Bruins shook off their opening quarter struggles as the team went on a run to cut into the Eagles' lead. Jessiann Wiedmann continued to drive through the lane for points and trips to the free throw line as the Bruins trailed 25-23 with just over five minutes to go in the half. The Eagles continued to keep the lead as Sandy McElhaney scored 11 first half points for PCC to help the team lead 35-30 at halftime.
As the second half began, Gracen Ledford knocked down a jump shot and Tamrah Konieczka hit a three to help the Bruins tie the game 35-35. The Eagles came right back with baskets from McElhaney and Hope Baker as PCC kept the upper hand. As the third quarter began to come to a close, the Bruins took the lead as Jessiann Wiedmann scored on a layup and Bethany Daulton hit a three to give BJU a 49-48 lead going into the fourth quarter.
With just one quarter to play, both teams knew this game was going to go down to the wire. Jessiann Wiedmann and Brittany Williams scored back to back baskets for the Bruins in the paint as the team took their largest lead of the game 54-48. Again, the Eagles came right back as Sandy McElhaney hit another three to keep the score close.
Back and forth the two teams went trading baskets and the lead as the game reached its final minutes. With just over three minutes to play, Gracen Ledford scored on a layup to give the Bruins a 64-61 lead. The Eagles responded with back to back baskets before Alissa Brewer hit a clutch three for PCC to give the Eagles a 70-66 lead.
Jessiann Wiedmann scored on a jump shot with just over a minute to play and the Bruins were able to get a defensive stop and regain possession with just over thirty seconds left in the game. Unfortunately, the Bruins attempt to tie resulted in a turnover and the Eagles made key free throws down the stretch to win the game 72-68.
"They are a good team, but we made too many mental mistakes on defense and offense and that's something we can control," Coach LeViere said. "It's really hard to beat a team when they shoot the ball over thirty times more than you and yet we still had an opportunity to win the game at the end. I'm still very proud of our team and how they continued to work hard all the way to the final buzzer."
Jessiann Wiedmann led the Bruins on the night with 18 points and 8 rebounds in the game while Tamrah Konieczka finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds. The Bruins struggled with 22 turnovers in the game which resulted in 17 points for the Eagles.
The Bruins will now await the final decision for an at-large birth from the NCCAA DII Championship committee which will be decided over the weekend. The NCCAA DII National Tournament will be played March 10-13, 2021, in Joplin, Missouri.
