November 1, 2007

 

     Dayton, TN-- The Bryan Lady Lions welcomed new Head Coach Jamy Bechler into the program on Thursday night with a thrilling come from behind victory at home over Martin Methodist College. Trailing by 12 with just under eight minutes to play, the Lady Lions staged a furious comeback, led by Junior tandem Ashley Gray and Katie Davis. Martin Methodist entered the game ranked 35^th in the NAIA Division I Pre-Season Women’s Basketball Poll, while Bryan entered the season unranked for the first time in three years. With the loss of two-time NAIA All American Brittany Swanson and All-AAC First Teamer Sarah Coffman, there have been many who doubt this year’s team.  It seems however, that the rumors of the Lady Lions' demise were greatly exaggerated; the hosts from Dayton matched the physical play and intensity of the visiting Lady Red Hawks all night and in the end stood victorious.

     Martin Methodist jumped out to a 12-4 lead on some solid outside shooting from guard Crystal Poindexter. The Lady Lions withstood the early attack, and Katie Davis scored on back to back possessions to pull the Lions back within two. Nina Robinson was a force inside for the Red Hawks, not only scoring at will, but also drawing Lady Lions’ Forward Courtney Swanson into foul trouble. With Swanson on the bench, the Red Hawks built a small lead, taking a 32-27 lead into the intermission.

     As the second half began, the Lady Lions came out looking to pull even, and a deep Katie Davis three got them on track. Courtney Swanson, Ashley Raburn, Lauren Copeland and Jessica Southern took turns matching up with Robinson, the Lady Red Hawks top scorer; the foursome matched Robinson’s physical play the entire period and after and early second half put back, they did a great job of neutralizing her on the offensive end of the floor.  Poindexter and forward Nini Edwards kept the Lady Red Hawks in the lead with big shots and timely rebounding, pulling away to lead by 12 points with 7:42 left in the game.

     From the 7:42 mark on, the game was completely one sided. The Lady Lions turned up the pressure on the defensive end, and began to hit big shots down the stretch. Most notable was Ashley Gray who came up with a couple big jumpers in the lane, and got to the basket at will. Katie Davis hit again from three point range, and with just under two minutes to play the score was tied. Davis was 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, finishing with 21 points to lead the Lions. A missed shot by the Red Hawks and a rebound by freshman guard Keke Bean led to the biggest possession of the ballgame; running the fast break, Ashley Gray got to the basket and got fouled sending her to the line with a chance to put her team on top. Gray knocked down both shots to put the Lions up for good.  She would go to the line twice more before all was said and done, delivering when it mattered the most and finishing a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line in the final minutes.