MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs shot just 19 percent from the floor, their coldest shooting night of the season, in a 66-38 loss to No. 18 Union Thursday night at Canale Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED:• The Lady Bulldogs (15-2, 9-2 GSC) used a 10-0 run over the last half of the first quarter to open a 13-4 lead on a Jada Perkins free throw with 53 seconds remaining in the quarter, and the Lady Bucs (6-9, 4-7) never came closer than eight points again.
• Union put it out of reach with a 17-1 run bridging the halftime break, capped by a Chelsea Bodiford triple that gave them a 36-12 lead with 7:47 remaining, and they never allowed CBU closer than 22 points over the final 17 minutes.
KEY STATS:•
Ashley Schaefer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) led the Lady Bucs with 10 points, adding three rebounds and two assists.
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April Bonner (Memphis, Tenn./Kirby HS) scored eight points with six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
• The Lady Bucs were just 19.0 percent (11-of-58) from the floor, including 0-for-22 from three-point range.
• Union shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) overall, including 32.3 percent (10-of-31) from three-point range.
• UU out-rebounded the Lady Bucs 47-40, but CBU held a 13-10 edge in offensive boards. Union forced 10 CBU turnovers while committing nine.
NOTABLE:• The Lady Bucs' 19.0 percent field goal shooting was their lowest mark since shooting 18.9 percent Nov. 21, 2014 in a loss at Alaska-Anchorage.
• CBU went scoreless from three-point range for the first time this year and the first since March 7, 2014 in a loss to North Alabama in the GSC Tournament.
COACH SARAH CONDRA'S THOUGHTS:"You're not going to shoot 19 percent and beat a lot of teams. It's hard to only score 38 and try to compete, especially against the top teams in the conference. We just didn't shoot the ball very well. Defensively, I thought we could have done a few things better but it came down to execution and we didn't execute well."
"April had eight points and six rebounds in 12 minutes. I challenged her for these last 11 games to continue to come in here every day and work on her own with her shot and everything. She may have played herself into the lineup a little bit tonight."
"It was good to see some of the young players and see how they'd react in a game like this. There's a few that we'd like to bring along more and hopefully moments like this will give them a little experience."
"The next four games are tough. Three of the next four are against three of the best teams in the conference, but I'm excited about it. I want to see how we respond, see if we can get better and grind it out. We just have to continue to do what we do, get a little bit better and make a push here to make the tournament."
WHAT'S NEXT:The Lady Bucs return to action Thursday night, Jan. 21, as they visit Shorter at 5 p.m. Their next home game is set for Thursday, Jan. 28, as they host Mississippi College at 5 p.m.
