#25 Bryan Slips Past Golden Tigers 67-57

Gainesville, Georgia- The Brenau basketball team pushed #25 ranked Bryan (Tenn.) College for four quarters but came up just short in a 67-57 loss in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday.

The Golden Tigers struggled shooting in the first quarter as the home team shot 2-14 (14%) in the period to allow the Lions an early 14-8 lead.

In the second quarter, Brenau found its stride as senior Shaniya Gause led the charge with six points in the period. Gause hit a short jumper, then nailed a three pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 24-16. Freshman Jill Pittman then scored eight consecutive points to make the score 26-24 at the 3:28 mark. Bryan's Samantha Russell made a layup to stop the Brenau run, however, senior Xian Lopez answered with a post up to cut the deficit to 28-26 going into the break.

After the break, the Lions broke open the game with a 27-15 quarter to take a 55-41. However, the Golden Tigers rallied to start the 4th quarter as sophomore Nyla Moore hit a three pointer to start a 14-4 run to cut the Bryan lead to 59-55. However, Bryan held off the charge down the stretch to escape with the win.

Pittman led Brenau with a career high 13 points, while Gause posted a career-high 11 points. Junior Katherine Fourie added 11 points and sophomore Hanna Cannon chipped in six points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Gracee Dishman led Bryan with 20 points.

Brenau (3-5 overall, 2-5 AAC) next travels to Bluefield (Va.) College (4-7 overall, 4-5 AAC) in an AAC matchup on Saturday at 2:00 pm.