The Lady Bruins basketball team turned in a dominant team performance on Saturday night as the team defeated Johnson University (FL) 68-46 to pick up their first South Region win of the season. Delaney Edwards led the Bruins with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals in the win as the team improves to 3-7 on the season and 1-3 in region play.
"We executed well both offensively and defensively tonight," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "Johnson is a really good team but we had good balance in our inside-outside game and were really tough to guard. "
The Bruins came into the game on a high note after the team picked up a 68-57 road win over Johnson University (TN) on Tuesday. The Bruins have begun to click offensively as the team chemistry has led to two wins in their last three games. The Suns came into the game at 5-10 on the season and 4-3 in region play.
From the opening tip, both teams struggled to get into their offensive flow as open shots rimmed out. Nearly three minutes into the game, the Bruins broke the scoreless draw as Shea Dickinson scored on a layup. The Bruins were able to find their spark near the end of the quarter as Gracen Ledford and Jessiann Wiedmann knocked down outside shots to help the team take a 19-5 lead at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, the Bruins picked up where they left off as Bethany Daulton knocked down a three to make it 22-5. Defensively, the Bruins did a great job of forcing the Suns into turnovers and tough shots which in turn fueled fastbreak opportunities. The Suns were able to close the gap to close out the half, but the Bruins still took a commanding 33-18 lead into the locker room for halftime.
As the second half began, the Bruins again came out strong to start as the team went on a 13-2 run to push their lead to 46-20. The Bruins were able to pick apart the Suns defense with crisp passing and knocked down their open shots. With under a minute to play, Alexis Trent knocked down a three to help the Bruins lead 53-25 at the end of the third quarter.
The game was all but decided as the final quarter began, but the Bruins continued to play strong defense and controlled the rebounding margin throughout the game. The Bruins outrebounded the Suns 38-26 in the game, including snagging 13 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second-chance points. The Suns tried to comeback but the Bruins were able to close the game strong as the final buzzer ended a dominant performance for BJU in a 68-46 win.
"We are starting to hit our groove that we normally hit midseason in previous years," Coach LeViere said. "This season, we've had some unfortunate circumstances with being out with COVID and other challenges. But tonight we executed our plan exactly how we wanted and really played well together as a team. We're not where we want to be yet, but we're really pleased with where we are at."
The Bruins were led by Delaney Edwards' 17 points, but Gracen Ledford also turned in a strong performance with 13 points and 4 assists. Freshman Brittany Williams had 8 points and 9 rebounds while Shea Dickinson finished with 8 points and 6 boards. The Bruins shot 40% from the field as a team and 44% from three-point range while shooting 77% from the free throw line as a team.
Next up, the Bruins will be back home on Monday night as the team welcomes Johnson University (TN) to the Davis Field House.
