Tigerville, S.C. – The Brevard College women’s basketball team stepped out of SAC play on Saturday afternoon, as the Tornados defeated the Lady Crusaders, 57-52 in overtime on the road in Tigerville, S.C.

 

Both teams started off the first half cold with both teams shooting under 25 percent from the floor, as the game quickly became a defensive battle from the opening tip-off. 

 

The Tornados defense stifled the Lady Crusaders for most of the first half, forcing eight first half turnovers and holding North Greenville to 10 points and scoreless for close to 11 minutes, with the Lady Crusaders ending the drought at the 2:40 mark. However, North Greenville began to knock down some long range shots and pick up its defensive pressure in the closing minutes of the opening half to score nine points and take a 19-18 lead into the halftime break.

 

Yet the Tornados struggled offensively in the first 20 minutes of play, shooting 23.8 percent from the field connecting on 5-of-21 shot attempts, including going 3-of-12 from behind the three-point line.

 

The offensive play picked up for both teams in the second half as the two teams combined to score 63 points, 26 more points than what was scored in the opening 20 minutes of play.

 

Both teams traded baskets for much of the second half with neither team able to pull ahead, as there were seven lead changes and four ties. 

 

North Greenville took a 39-37lead on an Amanda Milner lay-up at the 8:38 mark and held the advantage for the next six minutes. However, BC would battle back in take the lead at the 1:41 mark on a three-pointer from sophomore Lindsay Thrift.

 

However, after Samantha Winn connected on 1-of-2 free throws with just under a minute left, the Tornados took a 50-48 lead into the final minute of play.

 

After a BC missed free throw, the Lady Crusaders came down and hit a lay-up with 0:09 to play in the game to knot the score up at 50-50. The Tornados then inbounded the ball and took it the length of the court, where they missed an open look with time winding down to score the road win.

 

With the score knotted up at 50-50 heading into the extra frame, the Tornados would hold North Greenville to just two points in the five minute overtime period to pull away for the 57-52 road win.

 

The Tornados were led by Thrift’s 19 points, as she connected on 5-of-8 from behind the three-point line. Senior Holly Krogman and Winn added nine points apiece for the Tornados.

 

The Lady Crusaders were led by guard Eboni Davis, who led all scorers with 22 points. Fellow guard Whitney Smith had nine points, while forward Amanda Milner had 10 rebounds to go along with her seven points.

 

With the win the Tornados improve to 7-10 overall, picking up their third win away from Boshamer Gymnasium.

 

The Tornados will jump back into South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday, January 30, when they will travel back to the Palmetto state to take on the Lady Indians of Newberry College. The tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.

 

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