The Lady Lions traveled to Montreat, NC, yesterday to take on the Lady Cavaliers of Montreat College. The top-ranked Lady Lions fell in a tough battle 46-49. Bryan only had 7 healthy players since 2 were suspended and 3 were injured.
Montreat played inspired ball in front of the home crowd, as this was the first home game since mid-November. The Lady Lions were outscored 19-20 in the first half and 27-29 in the second half. Neither team shot well from the floor, with the Lady Lions shooting only 22% compared to the Lady Cavaliers 27.8% for the game.
The Lady Lions, who came into the game first in the nation in rebounding at +22, were out-rebounded for the first time all season, 29-31. Not only was it the first game to be outrebounded all year , but the first game Bryan did not outrebound its opponent by double digits. The Lady Lions did dominate on the free throw line once again, making 25 of 31, while Montreat only shot 22.
Bryan was led by their backcourt. Cori Jones finished with 13 points, while Bethany McArthur added 12 points. Amber Smith had 8 points, all from the free throw line, and 8 rebounds.
Bryan Head Coach Jamy Bechler had this to say after the game, "All year, we have emphasized rebounding and bought into the concept of rebounding wins championships. That concept has never been more real than it was tonight. Montreat flat out beat us tonight. They outrebounded us and outhustled us. They were the better team tonight because they wanted it more. We will just have to regroup for Saturday's game. We are still tied for first, even though we did not play like a championship team. However, like a championship team, we'll rebound from this and learn from this."
The Lady Lions are now 13-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference. They are in a 3-way tie for first place in the conference. They play again on Saturday against conference opponent Bluefield College. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00pm ET.
