On Thursday evening at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn., the No. 6 seed Bryan College Lions Women’s Basketball team kept their season alive with a 63-50 upset of No. 3 seed Point University (Ga.) in Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal play. The win sets up a meeting between the Lions and No. 2 Reinhardt University (Ga.) in the semis on Friday, Feb. 24 with tipoff slated for 4pm. Bryan improved their overall record to 16-14 while dropping Point to 23-6 as their year came to an end.
A scorching hot first half shooting for the Lions aided in the victory, but so did Bryan outrebounding Point 40-35 and forcing the Skyhawks to 30 percent shooting for the game and 22.7 percent from behind the arc (5-of-22).
The Lions finished the game shooting 44 percent and 46.2 percent from downtown. In the first half, Bryan connected on 14-of-30 shots and went 6-of-10 from three-point territory.
Amber Levi caused problems early for Point as she knocked down several of her five three-pointers in the opening period. She went on to lead all players with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The only other Lion to register double-digits was Megan Billingsby who shot 6-of-8 for 14 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Brandi Whitted pieced together a notable performance with seven points, three boards, and matched Erisha Talley for a team leading four assists. Talley aided with five rebounds and three points. Maebry McNeese finished with six points and two rebounds, and Katie Wolfe corralled six misses while notching five points. Tonesha Allison helped on the boards with six and chipped in four points. Keneisha Love made the scoring column with one lone bucket for two points.
Both teams struggled to capitalize in the first few minutes of play. When tied 3-3, Bryan took over and allowed only two more makes for the Skyhawks in the first quarter as the Lions rallied for 14 points to take a 17-7 advantage into the second period. The run was sparked with a trey from Levi and Whitted.
Levi lifted Bryan’s lead to 16 points with back-to-back three-pointers to begin the second quarter, 23-7. Another make from deep by Levi midway through the period gave the Lions their largest lead of the game at 31-10. With 2:42 on the clock, Point knocked down a three-point look to close the gap to 16 points, 33-17, but Levi countered on the opposite end with a long-range swish. Once again, the Skyhawks dribbled down the court and made the score 36-20 with a trey, but it would be the Lions who had the last say in the first half as McNeese grabbed a miss and took it coast-to-coast for a layup just before time expired. Bryan was out in front 38-20 after one half of play.
Nine unanswered points was how Point got the second half underway, slimming the margin to single-digits, 38-29. Talley responded with a basket inside, but it was followed by a three-point swing from the Skyhawks. Point nailed a three-pointer to make the difference only seven points, 42-35, with just under four minutes left in the third quarter. Billingsby worked under the goal and made two consecutive baskets to put the Lions up 46-35. The back and forth battle continued as Point had a 4-0 run but was matched by Bryan to wrap up third quarter action in the lead 49-39.
The Lion’s largest edged in the final quarter was at the beginning when Levi was successful on an and-one play and continued with another made foul shot, pushing Bryan ahead 53-39. The Skyhawks built momentum with two scores off turnovers and a make from behind the arc, bringing the score to 53-46 with six and a half minutes remaining. Allison took her turn with an and-one play but was countered with four points by Point, keeping it a close 57-50 game with under four minutes left to play. Bryan managed the clock well, and Point struggled to hit a shot with the final six points of the contest coming in the final three minutes, which were all made by the Lions. Billingsby had two finishes in the paint, and Levi made a pair of foul shots to seal a 63-50 win and receive a pass to the semi-final round of the AAC Tournament.