Lady Barons With 2 SSAC Wins

Courtesy of BPC

The Brewton-Parker College women's basketball team played two games last week and had a good start to Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) play as they picked up wins over Stillman (Ala.) and Tennessee Southern. vs. Stillman

Bre w t o n – Pa r k e r Women’s Basketball started Southern States Athletic Conference play on Thursday night with a match-up against Stillman (Ala.) in Gillis Gymnasium. The Lady Barons (6-1) took down the Tigers (3-2) in a 4644 battle to the end.

“Today was a really tough game,” Head Coach Steve Edwards said. “Stillman is a tough group, and they are a great defensive team. Their size and athleticism are elite.”

“We were so sluggish the first half and we came out flat,” Edwards said. “I have to do a better job of making sure we are locked in and ready to go.”

“We made enough plays in the second half to squeeze out a tough win,” Edwards mentioned. “We have a long way to go, but we will continue to grind.”

Bre w t o n – Pa r k e r started with a quick 5-0 run led by four points from Tajahnae Wiggins and a free throw from Angel McRae. With a free throw from both teams and five points from the Tigers, the game was all even at 4:48 left to play in the quarter.

The Tigers put together a 7-1 run of their own to put the Lady Barons in a three-point deficit with 1:09 left to play. McRae put up a jumper to cut the Tigers’ lead to one at the end of the quarter.

Samerria Bryant opened the quarter with a free throw to tie the game back up at 13, but the Tigers responded with a 9-1 run to give themselves a seven-point lead with 6:40 left on the clock.

The game was a backand- forth battle for the rest of the quarter. The Lady Barons ended the quarter in a 29-21 deficit as Stillman bested BPC 16-9 in the second installment of the game.

BPC struck first nearly a minute in a half into the quarter, with a jump shot from Keonya Mincey that sparked an 11-2 run led by three straight treys from hothanded A’Aliyah Clay. Clay’s big buckets gave the Lady Barons a 32-31 lead.

The Tigers put up a trey of their own to regain the lead, but BPC responded well with a three from Micah Bess to go up one point with 3:50 left to play. The Lady Barons finished the quarter on a 5-2 run to take a 40-36 lead going into the last quarter, outscoring Stillman 19-7 in the third frame.

Clay continued to threaten from deep, knocking down a three 20 seconds into the fourth quarter to boost Brewton-Parker up to a seven-point lead. Stillman responded with a late 5-0 run to cut the Lady Barons lead to two with 3:58 left in the game.

The Lady Barons were able to hold off the Tigers from the foul line as Madison Evans iced the game in the final moments of the game, to take a 46-44. win.

BPC shot 27.7 % (13-of-47) from the floor, 33.3% (7-of-21) from three, and 48.1% (13-of-27) from the foul line. Clay led the team with 15 points, shooting 5-of-9 from three followed by Evans with 10 McRae led the team in rebounds with 12. Defensively, Brewton-Parker forced 16 turnovers from Stillman while notching five steals in the process. vs. Tennessee Southern

Southern States Athletic Conference play continued Saturday afternoon as Brewton-Parker Women’s Basketball hosted Tennessee Southern in Gillis Gymnasium. The Lady Barons (7-1, 2-0 SSAC) utilized a fourth-quarter surge to extinguish the Firehawks (0-4, 0-2 SSAC) in a 6355 win.

“I’m proud of our fight today,” Head Coach Steve Edwards said. “We are battling through some adversity and finding ways to win.”

Our group is getting better every day and I enjoy seeing the improvement,” Edwards added. “We will rest up and prepare for Coastal Georgia in our last game before Thanksgiving break.”

Back-to-back threes from Cori Keats boosted Brewton-Parker to a 6-0 lead in the opening 90 seconds of play. Keats followed up 30 seconds later with another dime from beyond the arc to move the Lady Barons to a 9-3 lead.

Tennessee Southern put together a slow buildup of play, producing a 13-4 run in about six minutes to secure a 16-13 lead over Brewton-Parker. A trey from Samerria Bryant at the 2:17 mark followed by a pair of free throws gave BPC an 18-16 lead at the end of the quarter.

A’Aliyah Clay opened things up in the second frame with a jumper to advance the Lady Barons’ advantage to four. Tennessee Southern cut the deficit down to one with a shot from deep at the 7:21 mark, but a pair of free throws from Madison Evans and a three from Keonya Mincey moved BPC back into a two-possession game with 5:30 to play in the half.

After a trey from the Firehawks, the Lady Barons were led by Mincey with five points in the 6-0 run which gave BPC a 33-24 lead with three minutes left. Tennessee Southern continued to answer as the Firehawks netted back-to-back treys from Maggie Hale to cut the Lady Barons’ lead to just three. Evans sealed the half shut with a fastbreak score with 90 seconds on the clock to give Brewton-Parker a 35-30 lead at the break.

Keats opened the half with a three to give BPC an eight-point edge. Four minutes in, Hale notched another three herself to spark a fiveminute, 16-7 run for the Firehawks which shifted the score 46-45 in favor of the visitors.

Bre w t o n – Pa r k e r managed to gather three free throws in the final 40 seconds to cut the deficit to a one-point lead for Tennessee Southern. The Firehawks outscored the Lady Barons 19-13 in the quarter and were led by Hale’s 11 points.

Nearly two minutes in, Evans leveled and reclaimed the score for Brewton-Parker from the charity stripe. After another two minutes were chewed off the clock, Clay netted a jumper at the 6:03 mark to give the Lady Barons a 52-49 lead.

Tennessee Southern laid a shot up at the 5:54 mark to cut the deficit to one, but Brewton-Parker responded with a 6-0 run to take a 58-51 lead. In the final three and a half minutes, the BPC defense allowed only two made baskets and shut out a comeback effort from the Firehawks to win, 63-55.

Brewton-Parker shot for 31.3% (15-of-48) from the floor, 28.6% (8of-28) from three, and 78.1% (25-of-32) from the foul line. Evans led the way with 16 points followed by Keats with 12 as well as Angel McRae and Mincey with eight each. McRae also gathered 11 rebounds to lead BPC’s efforts off the glass, surpassing the 650 career rebound mark as a Lady Baron. Evans and McRae both dished out four assists apiece. BPC led 41-36 in rebounds.

BPC took on Coastal Georgia on Monday of this week after presstime and will not be back in action until after the Thanksgiving break.

Heritage Academy’s Pearson O’Neal breaks free for a touchdown after receiving a pass from Jake Adams.Photo by Pop-Pop’s Photos