MEMPHIS-For the second time in three days, the Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs found themselves trailing early in the fourth quarter of a crucial Gulf South Conference game. And for the second consecutive game, the Lady Bucs finished strong, rallying for a 58-50 win over West Georgia Saturday afternoon as they celebrated both Senior Day and Homecoming at Canale Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED:• The Lady Bucs (9-12, 7-10 GSC) used a 9-0 burst in the first quarter to take a 14-6 lead on a pair of
Ashley Schaefer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) free throws with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter.
• The Wolves (5-18, 5-12) answered with eight straight to tie the game at 14 on a Terrianna Cave triple with 2:04 remaining in the quarter, and neither team would lead by more than five points until late in the third quarter, when another Cave triple gave UWG a 43-36 lead with 1:29 remaining.
• A Cave layup with 9:13 remaining in the game gave UWG a 45-40 lead. The Lady Bucs answered with a 14-2 run capped by a Schaefer jumper with 2:04 remaining, giving the Lady Bucs a 54-47 advantage, and they never allowed UWG closer than five in the final two minutes.
KEY STATS:•
Samantha Reeves (Somerville, Tenn./Fayette Academy) scored 19 points with five rebounds.
• #Schaefer celebrated her Senior Day with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
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Rachel Lee (Jackson, Tenn./Jackson Christian School) scored 13 with eight rebounds and two steals.
• The Lady Bucs shot 41.9 percent (18-of-43) for the game, including 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point range.
• CBU held the Wolves to 25.8 percent (17-of-66) from the floor, including 21.2 percent (7-of-33) from beyond the arc.
• The Lady Bucs out-rebounded UWG 40-33, but UWG held a 13-6 edge in offensive boards and forced 17 CBU turnovers while committing six.
COACH SARAH CONDRA'S THOUGHTS:"Huge win for us obviously standings-wise and all that. I'm so proud of our kids. It was such a big pressure game, one that we needed. But these kids never once gave up. They played so hard and were able to pull that one in. That's our first home sweep of the year and what a time to get it."
"We're sharing the ball well, we're just really unselfish. Any night you know Sam's going to get going eventually, but you never know who's going to be the one that gives you something. The offense wasn't great early because they slowed us down with the 2-3 zone early, but we started to get a lot better."
"We had played man all first half and I didn't think it was too bad. We played a lot of 2-3 in the third quarter. We hadn't worked on our 3-2 zone in a while, but I trusted the kids we had out there, that they would remember how to run it. They did a really good job of running that with no practice, really."
"Our leadership is really starting to take a hold of this program. And Schaefer is a big reasons why we're moving in such a positive direction."
WHAT'S NEXT:The Lady Bucs hit the road next weekend as they visit West Florida Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. and Valdosta State Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Their final home game is set for Thursday, Feb. 18, as they host Alabama Huntsville at 5 p.m.
