November 29, 2007

 

     Dayton, TN—The Lady Cavaliers of UVA-Wise came to Dayton on Friday night to open 2007-2008 Conference play at Summers Gymnasium against the defending AAC Champion Bryan Lady Lions. Bryan came into the game at 2-4 after a string of losses to nationally ranked opponents (Georgetown, Lee, Cedarville and Berea) and was looking to get back on track. The Cavaliers entered the game at 2-6, but were looking to start conference play with a big road win.

     The Lady Lions started out hot and played ahead all night long. A balanced offensive attack, led by Lauren Copeland and Ashley Gray, allowed the Lions to pull away to a 38-20 halftime lead. The story of the second half was no different as Katie Davis got in on the scoring act, getting hot from beyond the arc and extending the Lions lead even further.  Gray led the Lions with 16 points and Copeland contributed 15 points off the bench. Daviswas 3 of 10 from deep, finishing with 11 points and 5 assists.

     One of the highlights of the night was the defense of Lions’ guard Hillary Tipton. The sophomore locked up the Lady Cavalier guards all night long, finishing with 5 steals to go along with 5 assists and 8 points. As the game came to a close, the Lions continued to play stingy defense, holding the Lady Cavaliers to under 28% shooting on the night. Final Score: Bryan 76, UVA-Wise 43

     Bryan Head Coach Jamy Bechler was excited about his team’s performance:

     “Our defense really keyed us.  The girls played great and showed that they are serious about defending our AAC Championship.  Hillary keyed us defensively by shutting down their leading scorer Kim Norris, who was averaging 20 points per game the last three games, but was held to 7 points tonight, while committing 8 turnovers.  KeKe (Bean) did a great job with 6 steals and provided us with a lot of energy.  Lauren Copeland had her best game of the year by being aggressive, getting rebounds and finishing around the basket.  Courtney (Swanson) also had a good game on the boards.  It was nice having KellieThurman back after being out the last couple of months.”  Thurman had 5 rebounds in 5 minutes of play.