The #2 Bob Jones University Bruins pulled off the upset Saturday afternoon as the women's basketball team defeated #1 seeded Pensacola Christian College 83-74 to capture the NCCAA DII South Region Championship. This is the third region championship in program history for the women's basketball team.
"It was a great team effort today," said Head Coach Mike LeViere. "We stayed focused and intent on the task at hand. That had been our point of emphasis coming into this tournament and knew that to be successful we just needed to focus on the task at hand. When you look at the stat sheet, it is obvious that no matter who was in the game, they were doing that. We controlled the things we could control really well."
The #2 Bruins knew they had a tough game ahead as they faced #1 Pensacola Christian College in today's contest. The South region rivals met twice in the regular season, with PCC coming away with wins in both of those games.
This 2021-22 series looked nearly identical to the 2019-20 year as the Bruins fell to Pensacola in both regular season games, but came back to upset and win the South Region tournament against the Eagles.
After narrowly edging out #3 Toccoa Falls College on Friday 62-61, the Bruins advanced to the title game. Pensacola took on #4 Trinity Baptist College Friday evening and came away with big 94-66 victory.
Early free throws would get PCC up first, but the Bruins quickly responded with Shea Dickinson making a layup and evening the early score. As the game continued, PCC would edge out the Bruins, but a jumper from Delaney Edwards with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter would tie the game back up. Another jumper from Shea Dickinson followed by a free throw from Delaney Edwards would give the Bruins the 15-12 advantage after 10 minutes.
The game would begin to pick up speed halfway through the second quarter, but the Bruins would work to gain 11-point lead over the Bruins with five minutes remaining. Catherine Skebo would sink a big three-pointer for the Bruins to increase their lead. PCC would look to pick away at the Bruins 16-point lead with 3:25 left in the second, but the Bruins held strong and went into halftime leading 42-32.
After the two quarters, the Bruins were shooting 43% from the field, 90% from the free-throw line and out rebounded the Eagles 27-17.
PCC wasted no time after the half to try hold and possession to break down the Bruins lead. They weren't able to convert and Tamrah Konieczka took her time with a layup to get the Bruins on the board first. Both teams continued to battle hard but the Bruins were able to go on a seven-point run and after 30 minutes of play, the Bruins would lead 64-48.
The Eagles would sink a three-point shot at the beginning of the final quarter to try to chip away at the Bruins lead. With five minutes remaining, the Bruins would still hold on to a 12-point lead. As the teams exchanged baskets in the last few minutes, the Eagles would make it a five-point game, but the Bruins held strong to come away with the 83-74 victory.
When speaking of his team's effort today Coach LeViere said that "they came to play and didn't fold under pressure. Our rebounding was the best we've seen all season. Shea really set the tone for rebounding from the beginning of the game. Delaney kept coming up huge all game long. Tamrah made moves and hit some big buckets, and then we had great ball handling and control of the game from Gracen to Jessiann to Annie. I can't say enough about our bench play. Ainsley Hutton had herself a tournament! Today she was huge in rebounding, moving without the ball, and finishing at the rim. Bailey Green came in and produced today like never before. Bethany Daulton had the unenviable task of guarding the player of the year in the region and she did that like she has done all season - an elite job defending a really good player. And then Catherine Skebo comes in and knocks down threes, Annie Miller going 4/4 from the line. Stats like that show how every team member contributed and stayed focused."
"Our mantra all year has been to be better tomorrow because of today," said Coach LeViere. "We talked before the game that no matter what happened, we would be the same individuals stepping on to the bus as the ones stepping off of it. We could be regional champions or we could lose and be runner-up, but we wanted to do our best to represent our teammates, our school, and ultimately who we are in Christ. I feel like they accomplished that goal, and they would've accomplished it, win or lose."
With the win, the Bruins have punched their ticket to compete in the NCCAA DII National Tournament, March 9-12 in Joplin, Missouri. Seeding and schedule will be released in the coming week from the NCCAA.
