January 29, 2008

 

                Bluefield, VA—After a tough stretch, the Lady Lions closed the month of January with a two game winning streak, jumping out to a big lead in the early going and never looking back, defeating the Bluefield College Lady Rams 84-60 on Tuesday night. For the second consecutive game, Bryan Head Coach Jamy Bechler got balanced offensive production from his team, with 5 Lady Lions scoring in double figures.

                Courtney Swanson led the way for the Lady Lions, scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds on the night. The Lions jumped out to an early 25-15 lead which they would not relinquish. Bryan was on fire in the first half, shooting 57% from the floor while holding Bluefield to an anemic 16% shooting in the first half of play.  The Lady Lions would extend their first half lead, heading into the locker room at halftime up 43-25.

                With the victory already in hand, the Lady Lions did not let their guard down, continuing to play tough defense and shooting 45% in the second half en route to the easy victory. Joining Swanson in the offensive outburst was Katie Davis (13 Pts, 9 RB, 7 Ast), Becca Morris (13 Pts), Jessica Southern (11 Pts, 6 RB) and Kaylin Carswell(10 Pts, 5 RB). The Lions have now won two games in a row and will look to stretch the streak to 3 when Concordia-Selma(AL) comes to Summers Gymnasium on Thursday night. Tip-Off is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

                Bechler was pleased with his team’s effort after the big road win: “I was very pleased with the way our girls came out of the gate quickly.  We knew that they had gotten out on Covenant quickly and eventually lost in overtime on Saturday.  We didn’t want the same thing to happen.  If Covenant had beaten them decisively we probably wouldn’t have played so well to start.  However, we really wanted to force the tempo and pressure them in the early going.  We were able to rotate and sub a lot of players and stay fresh, which allowed us to pressure on defense and hit some shots.  Our legs didn’t wear down.  Katie played great at the point for the second straight game, where both nights she’s nearly had a triple double.  Courtney really did a good job of getting us going offensively and Becca’s defense helped spark us as well.  Overall, though, it was just a good team effort. Now we’ve got to prepare for Concordia on Thursday.”