Box Score
The women's basketball team played their final game of the regular season against Toccoa Falls College down in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. The result would be an unfortunate loss to the Screaming Eagles 68-55. The Bruins will return home for a short couple of days before they make their way down to Pensacola, Florida for the NCCAA DII Regional Tournament hosted by Pensacola Christian College.
"We came off a long week of no games and limited practices and it showed in how hurried we were with the ball," started Head Coach Mike LeViere. "We did some great things defensively and then we would hurt ourselves by making a bad decision with the ball."
From the tip off, the Bruins tipped it out of bounds and gave the Screaming Eagles the first possession of the game. From the corner, just inside the arc, the shot was off and the Bruins came up with the ball. With the first possession for the Bruins, they found Catherine Skebo in the corner to hit the three-point shot and draw first blood.
Throughout the first quarter, the Bruins played a stiff defense forcing turnovers, but would rush the ball movements and would lose the ball themselves. This allowed the Screaming Eagles to take advantage of the situation and score early. Despite some early mistakes, the Bruins kept their cool and were able to stay with the Screaming Eagles throughout and found the lead. At the end of the quarter, the Bruins would hold their lead 19-12 over the Screaming Eagles after a corner three from Shea Dickinson.
The second quarter was much of the same as the first where both teams would try to take advantage of poor ball handling. Each time the Screaming Eagles tried to get back in it, the Bruins would score again to hold their lead. At the end of the first half, the Bruins held a slim 34-29 lead.
Coming out of the half, the Bruins got first possession. After a couple of clean ball movements, the layup wouldn't make it to the basket and the Screaming Eagles would get the turnover. With their first possession, they would find an opening from the outside the arc and creep closer with a three-point shot. The Bruins continued to play tight full court pressure after they missed their response shot, but it wouldn't make a huge difference as the Screaming Eagles found the lead with 7:50 left in the third quarter. Finally, after the Screaming Eagles started the half on an 11 point run, Anna Layne Wylder broke the drought with a reverse layup to get the Bruins started again. By the end of third, the Screaming Eagles led 53-42.
The Bruins continued to play tough, but they couldn't get their shots to fall. Throughout the fourth quarter, they managed to keep it within striking distance, but minute by minute the Bruins chances of making a comeback slipped away. Each point during the quarter was matched by the Screaming Eagles and the Bruins would fall 68-55.
Coach LeViere finished by saying, "We showed how good we can be by overcoming those mistakes and still being up on a top 5 team in the nation. We just have to continue to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them."
Up next, the Bruins will be headed to Pensacola, Florida for the NCCAA DII Regional Tournament. The tournament will be hosted by Pensacola Christian College and the Bruins will receive the #3 seed.
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