February 2, 2008

 

                Dayton, TN—The Bryan College Lady Lions are on a roll, and the rest of the AAC has been put on notice: The Lady Lions are a dangerous team right now heading into the final weeks of the regular season. Winners of three straight, the Lady Lions took the floor on Saturday afternoon against a talented Montreat team who defeated Bryan on the road earlier in the season.

                Both teams struggled offensively early, with Montreat shooting just 30% from the floor, and the Lady Lions barely edging them at 38%. Montreat stayed in the game by grabbing 14 offensive rebounds and limiting Bryan to just 2 second chances on offense. As the teams headed into the break, Montreat clung to a 2 point lead, 28-26.

                If the first half was an offensive struggle, the second half was an offensive explosion, as the Lady Lions came out and shot 57% from the floor in the half. Montreat also shot the ball well, hitting 46% of their shots. The big story of the second half was Lady Lions’ leading scorer Katie Davis who poured in 17 of her game high 27 points in the second frame.  Every player but one scored for Bryan in another game in which the Lady Lions got balanced offensive production. Bryan pulled away down the stretch, extending their lead late in the second half, and eventually pulling out a 6 point home victory, 70-64.

The win is the 4^th in a row for Bryan, and gives the Lady Lions some much needed confidence heading into the final weeks of the regular season. Bryan Head Coach Jamy Bechler was thrilled to get the big win in front of the home fans: “This was a good win for us.  Montreat is extremely well-coached and they were ready for us tonight.  Having lost to them the first time, we felt that we had some unfinished business to take care of. That first game we played happened to be the first game after Hillary Tipton got hurt and Kellie Thurman quit, so we were regrouping, but tonight we came to play.  We shot the ball well, but the game was really a tale of two halves.  We were not real pleased with the first half.  We got out-rebounded and out-hustled badly in the first half.  The girls did a great job of getting refocused and reenergized at halftime and came out a completely different team.  Keke Bean, in particular, led us in the second half.  Amber Smith and Katie(Davis) had really good games.  Becca Morris had 5 rebounds in the second half alone which was key for us.  Wendy Vork was one of the few bright spots in the first half as her hustle plays, defense and couple of key baskets kept us in the game early on.  Four in a row is a nice feeling.”

                The Lady Lions now travel to Virginia Intermont College on Wednesday to take on the Lady Cobras. Tip-Off is scheduled for 5:30 PM.