The Lady Lions traveled to Bluefield, VA, to take on the Lady Rams of Bluefield College. The Lady Rams are currently receiving votes to be ranked in the top 25. The Lady Lions fell 54-48.
The Lady Lions played well in the first half. They shot 54.5% from the floor for the half and went into the locker room leading at halftime 30-25. However, the second half was a different story. Bryan did not score for the first 8 minutes of the second half, as Bluefield went from down 30-25 to up 38-30. The Lady Lions shot only 18.2% in the second half and were outscored 29-18.
The Lady Lions did continue to win the battle on the boards and on the free throw line. Entering the game, Bryan was #1 in the nation in Rebounding Margin and Bluefield was #2. They outrebounded their opponents 31-29 and made as many free throws as the Lady Rams shot, 13. Bluefield entered the game leading the nation in offensive rebounds with 18 per game. Bryan limited the quantity with only 13, but Bluefield made those 13 count by putting back 16 second-chance points. Bluefield came into the game averaging 75 points per game. Bryan held Bluefield to two of their lowest point totals of the year (58 and 54).
Anna Thomas led the Lady Lions with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Cori Jones added 10 points. Jessica Southern grabbed 11 rebounds. Bryan continues to play without shooting guard Bethany McArthur, who has been out of action in the last four games.
Heather Ferrell led the Lady Rams with 19 points.
After the game Coach Bechler said, "This game was a battle. Bluefield is a very good team and their coach has done a great job of building that program up. Not only are they no longer an easy win for teams in the conference, but they are the #3 team in the league. They have so many athletes and they are relentless on defense and on the offensive boards. We hung in there and scrapped and clawed but we just fell short. Jessica Southern and Anna Thomas really worked hard and had a good evening. Cori Jones handled the ball pretty well against the 40 minutes of constant pressure that Bluefield applied. Playing against Bluefield on senior night certainly didn't help us as their senior shooters hit some big shots early. "
The Lady Lions are now 16-12 overall and 6-9 in the conference. They play again on Saturday at home against UVA-Wise in the last game if the regular season, and it will be senior night. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00pm ET.
