November 30, 2007

 

     Dayton, TN—Playing back to back conference games is not the norm for the Bryan College Lady Lions, but after beating the Lady Cavaliers of UVA-Wise handily on Friday night, Head Coach Jamy Bechler led his team back onto the floor at Summers Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.  Opposing the Lady Lions were the visiting Lady Rams of Bluefield College and new Head Coach Steve Hardin.

     The game was all Bryan early, as the Lady Lions jumped out to a quick 24-8 lead over the visitors, but at the halfway mark, the Lady Lions went cold, unable to extend their lead, while Bluefield began to claw back into the ballgame. At the halfway point, Bryan held an 8 point lead, 42-34.

     After shooting 45% in the first half, the Lady Lions continued to play well in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 21 points with 5 minutes left in the game, before the Lady Rams would make an unbelievable run. The Bluefield run was spearheaded by Lady Rams junior guard Holly Hudson who went off for 19 points in the final 4:40. It was an unbelievable performance by Hudson who scored 16 of her teams final 20 points to keep Bluefield in the game. In the end, the Lady Lions were just too talented, and pulled away for the 83-75 victory.

     Lions Coach Jamy Bechler had this to say about the victory:

     “This was a game of ups and downs.  Fortunately for us, our ups were much more prevalent.  We did a lot of good things.  Bluefield was a very scrappy team and showed a lot of heart.  Courtney Swanson played really well; She owned the boards tonight.  She had a great week of practice and I was glad to see her rewarded for that on both ends of the floor.  Ashley Gray had another stellar game as well. She really keyed us offensively, and shot the ball well all weekend.  Katie Davis stayed hot from the perimeter, rebounded well and played solid defense for us.  All in all, we won the game with our defense.  We were able to create a lot of turnovers that led to easy buckets. “

     The Lions were led by Gray who finished with 22 point, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while Davis contributed 21 points, 9 boards and 4 assists. Swanson had her best game of the year, leading the team with 11 rebounds to compliment her 14 points. Lauren Copeland and Jessica Southern contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds a piece.