Bryan News

The Lady Lions hosted the Lady Buffaloes of Milligan College. The Lady Buffaloes were undefeated in the conference coming into the game. Bryan came out slow as it was their first game in three and a half weeks, but defeated Milligan 78-66. It was the fourth straight regular season game that Milligan has been at the top of the AAC when they played Bryan and Bryan has come out on top with a win.

In the first half, the Lady Lions got down 23-11 early. They fought back and cut into the deficit, but went into the locker room at halftime down 29-37. Guards Cori Jones and Bethany McArthur combined for 18 of Bryan's first half points combining for 4 for 4 from beyond the 3-point line.

In the second half, the Lady Lions caught fire outscoring the Lady Buffaloes by 20 points. Bryan shot 54.2% from the floor and hit 20 free-throws for the half. Bethany McArthur led the way scoring 15 points in the half.

Something had to give in the game because Milligan and Bryan came in committing the fewest fouls in the conference; however, they both were at the top of the conference in drawing fouls and getting to the line. A combined 8 free throws were shot in the first half; however, Bryan continued to work the ball inside in the second half and started drawing fouls as they made 20/26 free throws in the second half compared to the 4/7 of Milligan. For the 10th game this season, Bryan made more free throws than their opponent attempted.

After seeing a first half that was nearly even on the boards, the Lady Lions, the nation's top rebounding team, were able to come out and raise their level of intensity and ended up outrebounding the Lady Buffs 46-29. The Lady Lions have outrebounded every opponent this year by double digits.

Bryan came into the game shooting the fewest three-pointers in the conference, yet having the second best three-point shooting percentage. This trend of looking for the right shot and then taking advantage of it paid off as the Lady Lions made 7/9 three-pointers, led by Bethany McArthur's 5-for-5 and Cori Jones 2-for-2 performance.

Bethany McArthur led the Lady Lions with 25 points on 7/11 shooting. Anna Thomas added 17 points, shooting 7/8 from the charity stripe. Amber Smith shot 6/7 from the floor to finish with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Cori Jones finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists while playing the entire game. Jessica Southern tallied 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. As a team, the Lady Lions shot 46% from the floor and 76% from the free throw line for the game.

First-Team All-Conference post player, Heather Mandela, had 18 points but needed 21 shots to achieve that mark. Samantha Blevins made 4 three-pointers to end with 14 points.

Bryan Head Coach Jamy Bechler commented: "This was an exciting game. Milligan is such a good team. They are well-coached and have Heather Mandela. She is so difficult to defend. However, our girls really wanted this game. They showed that they wanted to win this game at home more than Milligan wanted to win a road game. They showed how much they like each other as they had each other's back, especially during the second half. I like that they didn't quit when they got behind early and went into halftime down by 8. Our post players really did a much better job of getting post position in the second half. Because of this, it opened up the perimeter game and allowed Cori Jones and Bethany McArthur to knock down shots. Everyone contributed to this win. We had a couple of key rebounds from Kaylan Dilts late in the second half. Sarah Newton worked hard on Heather Mandela and didn't give her many easy looks. We accomplished the three things that we strive for every game. We made more free throws than our opponents shot, we won the battle of the paint, and we outrebounded Milligan. We feel that when we do this, we have a chance to win every game. I am really proud of our girls."

The Lady Lions are now 3-1 in the conference and 12-4 overall. They are currently tied for first in the conference with Milligan, but have the head-to-head tie breaker due to this win. Bryan plays again on Saturday at home against conference opponent Virginia Intermont College. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00pm ET.