January 19, 2008

 

     Barbourville. KY—The Bryan College Lady Lions headed to Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon to take on the AAC Leading Union College Lady Bulldogs, looking to end a 9 game skid and get back on track. Over the course of their 9 game losing streak, the Lady Lions have played some really good basketball with the stretch including two 1-point losses and some tough games on the road against NAIA Division I opponents.

     Against Union, the Lady Lions played a tough first half, jumping out to an early lead behind 55% shooting from the floor. Becca Morris led Bryan in the first frame, scoring 14 points in the early going with 4 first half three pointers. Courtney Swanson also had 8 points for the Lady Lions in the first half, but her most important work came on the defensive end of the floor. Swanson, along with Jessica Southern, Amber Smith and Lauren Copeland, held the AAC’s leading scorer, Union’s Brooke Smith to just 2 first half points on only 1-4 shooting. Union stayed in the game because of their outside shooting. The Lady Bulldogs hit 8 first half treys to keep the game from getting out of hand early. As the Lady Lions headed into the locker room, they held a 2 point lead, 42-40.

     Union came out firing in the second half, led by Brooke Smith who scored 19 of her game-high 21 points in the second half. The Lions battled most of the second half, as Katie Davis got hot, scoring 13 in the second half to finish with 20 points. Amber Smith, who has been playing tremendous basketball as of late, also added 20 points for the Lady Lions after going scoreless in the first half. The Lady Lions would extend their lead to 9 points in the second half, but Union clawed back into the game behind some hot shooting and the strong post play of Smith.  Down the stretch, Union showed why they’re the number 1 team in the conference, finding a way to win at home, finishing with an 88-81 victory.

     Lady Lions Head Coach Jamy Bechler had mixed feelings about the game, “We let one get away from us tonight.  It is disappointing when you have a 9-point lead in the second half on the road against the #1 team in the league and lose.  Our girls played really well.  They showed a lot of energy and heart.  Becca and Katie really got us going in the first half and Amber Smith continued that in the second half.  Union has a good team.  They have 4 really good shooters plus the best post player in the conference.  We have been playing much better lately and look forward to continuing to improve as we head into the last few weeks of the season."