BPC Plays In NAIA Tourney
Courtesy of BPC
Lady Barons Basketball of Brewton-Parker College continued with postseason play on Friday night of last week, taking on a tough challenge against No. 4-seed Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship First Round in Lewiston, Idaho.
The 13th-seeded Lady Barons (19-13) punched the Warriors (26-5) early in the first quarter but let the game slip away in the second half to fall 85-56 in front of a tough LC State crowd in the P1FCU Activity Center.
“We didn’t want the season to end this way, but I’m proud of our group,” Head Coach Steve Edwards said. “We struggled in the second half, and we couldn’t recover. Lewis-Clark is a really good team, and they were the better team tonight.”
“It’s great to get to the national tournament, but we want more,” Edwards mentioned. “We will do all we can to take our program to the next level. Our seniors have done a really good job, and the next group will continue to push us forward.”
Cori Keats and the Lady Barons struck first at the 9:03 mark, scoring a deep shot from threepoint territory. LC State returned the favor with a trey of their own nearly a minute later followed by a jumper in the paint at the 7:36 mark, taking a 5-3 advantage.
After a leveling score from Tajahnae Wiggins, the Warriors knocked down back-to-back treys for an 11-5 lead with 6:39 left in the quarter. Both teams found a free throw each before Brewton- Parker began to battle back into the game.
A three-pointer from Keonya Mincey at the 5:27 mark sparked a 17-4 run to close out the quarter for the Lady Barons, with the senior guard scoring 12 of the 17 points. Brewton-Parker capped off the run with a bucket from three-point distance off the hands of Keats to lead 23-16.
Lewis-Clark began the second quarter with a quick five-point spurt to pull the deficit down to just two points, leaving nine minutes on the clock. A free throw from Madison Evans and another three-pointer from Keats moved the Lady Barons into a 27-21 lead with just less than eight minutes to play.
After a trey from the hosts, Wiggins and Evans both found the basket to move BPC to a 31-24 lead with 6:17 remaining. Lewis-Clark responded well with a 6-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit down to 31-30.
Field goals from Mincey and Angel McRae as well as a pair of free throws from Evans boosted the Lady Barons back into a sevenpoint advantage with 1:47 left until the break. The Warriors closed out the quarter with a big shift in momentum, going on an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead at the break, 38-37.
Lewis-Clark came out swinging in the second half, scoring six unanswered to open the third quarter. Brewton-Parker was sluggish in the third quarter as the Lady Barons were able to score just four points as Keats made a jumper at the 8:02 mark and A’Aliyah Clay scored a pair of free throws at the 4:20 mark.
The Warriors bested the Lady Barons with a 25-4 performance in the quarter, shooting 55% from the field, 33.3% from three, and 50% from the foul line.
Lewis-Clark continued its momentum into the fourth quarter, opening with a 6-0 run before Samerria Bryant and the Lady Barons were able to respond with a threepointer at the 8:14 mark. Despite the score, Brewton- Parker struggled to keep the Warriors away as the hosts were able to outscore the Lady Barons 22-15 in the quarter for the 85-56 defeat.
Brewton-Parker finished shooting 29.7% (19-of-64) from the field, 26.5% (9-of-34) from three, and 64.3% (9-of-14) from the foul line. Mincey led the game with 18 points, shooting 7-of-19 from the field. Keats was the only other Lady Baron in double-figure scoring with 11 points. Clay finished with eight points and seven boards while McRae led BPC with 12 rebounds while also dishing out team-leading four assists. The BPC defense totaled six steals on nine LC State turnovers. LC State’s bench outscore Brewton- Parker’s 28- 25.
Brewton-Parker closes out the 2023-24 campaign with a 19-13 overall record and closes out their second straight trip to the NAIA First Round.
