In their 2022-23 season opener, the Bob Jones University women's basketball team fell to Brevard College 49-67 in Brevard, North Carolina. Shea Dickinson led the Bruins with a double-double recording 14 points and 11 rebounds on the night.
"It was nice to play against an opponent other than ourselves," said Head Coach Mike LeViere. "We needed that sooner and we needed another week of practice after that."
Today's game in North Carolina was the first game of the season for Bruins and their first against another opponent following an intersquad Blue/White scrimmage last week.
Coach LeViere continued by saying, "we really struggled to get the ball up quickly and get into our offense. That made us stale and we needed to learn that quicker. Our effort was awesome and a lot of energy was spent. We just have to reward ourselves for that effort."
Shea Dickinson won the opening tip-off for the Bruins, but after a turnover the Tornados were able to shoot for three and get on the board first. The Bruins responded with a three-pointer by Shea Dickinson to level the game. Another three-point shot by Catherine Skebo gave Bob Jones a brief 6-5 lead. Katrina Tabora then scored her first points as a Bruin halfway through the first quarter. With a minute left in the first quarter, Anna Layne Wylder tallied her first points as a Bruin to bring the score to 10-16 in favor of Brevard after the first 10 minutes of play.
In the second quarter, the Bruins looked to close the gap and got within four points halfway through the second quarter, but as the game continued the Bruins would see them down 23-36 after 20 minutes of play.
As the third quarter got underway, Ainsley Hutton missed her initial shot, rebounded and made a layup to increase the score for the Bruins. The Bruins closed out the third quarter 34-53 with a layup and free throw from Anna Layne Wylder.
Looking to close out the game strong, the Bruins outscored Brevard 15-14 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Bruins fell 49-67 in tonight's game.
"We held them to 33% shooting overall. We'll take that every night," said Coach LeViere. "What we have to work on is rebounding and decision making with the ball. The turnovers and offensive rebounds we gave up resulted in Brevard getting 82 shots compared to our 49. That is the ballgame."
Despite tonight's result, the Bruins were able to get great first minutes from the team's newcomers. Coach LeViere stated, "I'm excited to see them improve and join our returners in playing some great defense and settling in on the offensive side."
Up next, the women's basketball team travels to Birmingham, Alabama for games against Millsaps College and Birmingham-Southern College Friday and Saturday.
