Basketball Falls In SSAC Play

The Brenau basketball team dropped two games over the weekend as the Golden Tigers fell to Blue Mountain (Miss.) College and #5 Bethel (Tenn.) University in SSAC play.

Against Blue Mountain, the Golden Tigers came out to cold shooting as the squad shot 6-24 (25%) against 53% for the Toppers in the opening half for a 50-20 deficit.

In the second half, Brenau shook off the slump, outscoring Blue Mountain 38-33, but were unable to overcome the early deficit to lose 83-58.

Briah Woods (SO/Acworth, Ga.) led the Golden Tigers with 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Nekeia Brown (SO/Danielsville, Ga.) had eight points and 10 rebounds.

"We came out very flat, had early foul trouble and just couldn't find a rhythm," said head coach Kris Stewart. "We missed a lot of practice due to the weather, and I think that helped contribute to our sluggishness. Once we settled down, we played well, but we were unable to overcome our slow start"

Against #5 Bethel, Brenau came out scorching on offense as the Golden Tigers shot 13-25 (52%) in the first half to take a 35-32 lead into intermission.

After the Wildcats tied up the score with 15:00 to play, neither team increased the lead more than five points until the two minute mark when back-to-back baskets for Bethel helped the nationally-ranked team sneak away with a 73-63 win.

"We were very sharp against Bethel during the entire game," said Stewart. "To play a team like Bethel down to the wire is a testament to how our team is maturing. I was pleased with our effort and focus and we made a very good showing against a top-five team."

Kalin Williams (JR/Palmetto, Ga.) scored 17 points and had 8 rebounds in the loss. Freshman Autumn Dodson (FR/Jefferson City, Tenn.) added 12, while Woods added 11 points and six rebounds.

Brenau travels to Allen (S.C.) on Tuesday for a non-conference game. Tip-off is at 7 pm.