In their opening game of the NCCAA South Region Tournament, the #3 Bob Jones University women's basketball team finished with a big 72-47 victory over #6 Southeastern Baptist College. With today's win, the Bruins have advanced to Friday's semifinals of the region tournament in Kissimmee, Florida.
"I am really happy with how we came out tonight. We had some time to prep for this game, and even though we hadn't played Southeastern this year, the ladies took advantage of our film sessions and applied what they learned in the game," said Head Coach Mike LeViere. "Our focus was on playing defense and rebounding, and we did that. It's also a lot of fun when shots start falling. Maybe the most impressive thing to me about tonight was the way we kept our composure early. Often times in a "win or go home" scenario, teams will get tentative. We missed some early open looks, and we could have gotten very tentative. Instead, the team stayed focused and positive and then the shots started falling. That showed maturity and improvement."
The Bruins began region play Thursday evening as the #3 seeded Bruins took on #6 Southeastern Baptist College. Today marked the first meeting between the Bruins and Chargers. The Chargers picked up their one and only win in their first game of the season before losing 16 straight heading in to today's contest. Their last two region matches have been tight with Pensacola edging the Chargers 69-64 before the Chargers fell by two to Trinity Baptist College.
Today's game got off to a bit of a slow start, but once the shots started falling, the Bruins picked up momentum. In the final four minutes of the first quarter, the Bruins went on an 18-2 run with four consecutive three-pointers to see a big 22-6 lead after the first quarter.
The scoring continued in the second quarter as Shea Dickinson increased the lead with a layup. After some back and forth buckets from the Bruins and Chargers, BJU went on a seven point run. Another layup from Shea Dickinson in the final minute saw the Bruins up by 30 points before a three-pointer at the buzzer from Southeastern ended the quarter with a score of 43-16.
BJU looked to keep up the intensity in the third quarter, but the Chargers came out after halftime outscoring the Bruins 20-11 to cut the Bruins advantage down to 18 points.
Ashley Phelan made a free throw to open the final frame before Anna Layne Wylder sank a three-pointer to continue the scoring. The Bruins stayed hot through the final quarter and free throws from Kyla Worley and Bria Dickinson sealed the deal as BJU finished on top 72-47.
Four Bruins finished with double figures with Anna Layne Wylder leading with 16 points. The Bruins were 53.3% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc, and were nearly 60% from the free throw line.
"During tournament basketball, there are no easy games," said LeViere. "We could have lost this game. Southeastern took Pensacola to overtime just two weeks ago and lost to Trinity by just a point or two. We didn't take them lightly. They are a good team, and we were prepared. Now it's time to repeat that performance."
The Bruins are back on the court Friday afternoon as they face #2 Pensacola Christian College in the semifinals of the NCCAA South Region tournament. Tip-off for Friday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Kissimmee, Florida.
