Basketball Fades Against Middle Georgia

The Brenau basketball team started quickly, but faded down the stretch as the Golden Tigers fell to SSAC opponent Middle Georgia State 75-59 on Thursday in Gainesville.

In the early going, Brenau jumped out to an early lead as freshman guard Autumn Dodson (FR/Jefferson City, Tenn.) notched two early buckets and forward Alyssa Nichelson (JR/Jasper, Ga.) knocked down one of her own to give the home team an early 10-5 lead. Brenau stretched the lead to 17-7 at the 10:02 mark as Nichelson buried her third basket in of the half.

Over the next four minutes, the Knights used a 10-2 run to even the score at 19-19. A Jasmine Williams (JR/Palmetto, Ga.) finish kept the score close at 29-26, but Middle Georgia rallied to take a 36-28 lead into the break.

After intermission, the shooting woes continued for the Golden Tigers as the squad got down as many as 18. A furious rally, led by a Nichelson three-pointer and back-to-back transition baskets by Kalin Williams (JR/Palmetto, Ga.) cut the lead to 8 at the 7:44 mark, but Brenau was unable to sustain momentum, shooting 4-17 (24%) down the stretch.

"We started off well, but had trouble keeping pace," said head coach Kris Stewart. "We didn't finish shots in the last part of the first half and in the early second half, which was the difference in the game."

The Golden Tigers were led by Kalin Williams's 14 points and six assists. Nichelson, Dodson, and Jasmine Williams each added eight points each.

Shaketa Hodges led all scorers with 28 points.

Brenau (10-12, 5-8 SSAC) next hosts #22 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College at 2 pm eastern on Saturday.