Bryan News

The Lady Lions traveled to Milligan College to take on the Lady Buffaloes. Coming into this game, Bryan had won 3 out of the last 4 regular season meetings with Milligan, including a win earlier this year. However, Milligan shot over 50% from the floor and over 50% from beyond the 3-point arc to defeat the Lady Lions 52-74.

Milligan and Bryan are the only two AAC teams to crack the NAIA's Top-25 rankings all year. Milligan was picked preseason #1 in the AAC coaches' poll and is currently tied for first in the conference. Bryan was coming off an emotional and tough win against nearby rival Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday evening.

The Lady Lions got off to a slow start as they found themselves down 2-15. Their largest deficit of the first half was 15. The Lady Lions hit a basket at the end of the half to go into the locker room down 26-39. In the second half, the Lady Buffs scored the first 9 points and held the lead in the 20's for the rest of the game.

The Lady Lions did outrebound the Lady Buffs 29-18. They also outscored them from the free throw line. However, Bryan averages 26 free throw attempts per game but only shot 19 on Saturday. The difference for the game came from beyond the 3-point line as Milligan went 10 for 18, while Bryan went 0 for 5. Bryan is 0-5 in games where the opponent scores 70 points or more.

Bryan was led in scoring by Amber Smith with 18 points, to lead all scorers. Morgan Burnette was perfect from the field, connecting on all 5 of her shots, finishing with 12 points. Cori Jones and Anna Thomas finished with 6 points apiece. Jessica Southern and Amber Smith led Bryan with 6 rebounds. Bethany McArthur sat out the game due to injury. She has been playing 38 minutes per game in the last month, and averaging nearly 10 points per game.

Heather Mandela, first-team All-AAC, led Milligan with 14 points. Jaimee Hill and Samantha Blevins added 12 points apiece.

Head Coach Jamy Bechler said, "This was a tough game. Milligan thoroughly outplayed us in nearly every facet of the game. They are an extremely good team that was clicking on all cylinders tonight. They shot the ball well, played good defense, and finished strong inside. They were the better team tonight. However, I was encouraged by the play of Morgan Burnette and Amber Smith. Additionally, I thought our post players worked hard to establish position on the inside. We just didn't get them the ball in the proper position, or once we got it inside we didn't execute as well as we can. I also thought Sarah Newton brought some energy to our team today. She came up with some loose balls and really worked hard on the interior. We hate losing to anyone. Yet, when you consider this loss was to Milligan at Milligan, it still gives us cause for encouragement as we prepare for the conference tournament and look to finish strong the last two weeks of the season."

The Lady Lions are now 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the conference. They play again on Wednesday at Virginia Intermont College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30pm ET.