February 28, 2008

 

                Bristol, TN-- The Bryan Lady Lions ran into a ‘team on a mission’ Thursday night according to Head Coach Jamy Bechler. The Lady Lions took on the Milligan College Lady Buffs in 2^nd round action of the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament and despite Katie Davis’ 31 points, Milligan shot 62% on the night in contract to Bryan’s 29% and defeated the Lady Lions by a score of 92-62.

                The Lady Buffs forced 15 Bryan turnovers and got scoring from all but 1 player on their roster en route to the 30 point victory. For the Lions, Davis had 31, but she was the only Lady Lion in double-figures on the night. Davis 31 points came on the strength of 5 three pointers and she shot 10 of 11 from the Free Throw line.

                Bryan trailed 49-14 early in the first half and could never recover from the big deficit. After heading into the locker room down 49-27, the Lions scored 35 2^nd half points, but Milligan added 43 more of their own to push the final margin to 30. It was a tough ending to a roller coaster season for the Lady Lions who struggled early before going on a 6 game win streak towards the end of the year.

                Bechler was disappointed about his team’s finish: “We were beaten by a team on a mission today. Milligan shot the lights out. It was one of the best performances I have ever seen for an entire game. We were mostly worried about their two all-conference post players. They just played great. They took advantage of every mistake we made tonight, converting our 15 turnovers into 25 points. I was proud of the way we battled in the second half.  Katie was just a warrior today and proved that she is one of the top 5 players in the AAC. Jessica Southern did a good job on the offensive boards. She constantly does the little things to help our team. It was disappointing to lose this way in the tourney, because we really felt that we were motivated and ready. Unfortunately we ran into an offensive buzz saw tonight, and it was too much for us to overcome."

                If there was one silver lining to the Lady Lions’ trip to the conference tournament was the naming of two Lady Lions to all conference teams. Katie Davis, as expected, was named to the All-AAC 1^st Team, awarded to the conferences top 5 players. Davis finishes the year averaging 16.8 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per contest and 4 assists per game.  In addition to Davis, Becca Morris was honored by being named to the AAC’s All Freshman team. Morris averaged 9 points a game for the Lions this season.