MEMPHIS-Two days after coming back from a 24-point first-half deficit, the Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs nearly squandered a 19-point first-half lead but held on for a 54-52 win over Shorter Saturday afternoon at Canale Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Lady Bucs (9-5, 6-4 GSC) opened the game with a 26-7 run capped by a
Samantha Reeves (Somerville, Tenn./Fayette Academy) triple with 7:32 remaining in the second quarter.
• Shorter (5-9, 4-5) used an 11-2 run to close within 28-18 on a Grace Rogers jumper with 2:44 remaining in the second quarter.
• CBU extended its lead to 41-23 with 7:16 remaining in the third when Reeves scored back-to-back layups to cap an 11-3 run.
• From there, the Lady Hawks used an 8-0 run to come back within 10 at 43-33 with 3:26 remaining in the third. A 15-2 run in the fourth quarter brought them within 49-48 on a Jackie Hudson three-point play with 2:47 remaining.
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Courtney Banks (Memphis, Tenn./White Station HS) stopped the run with a three-point play with 1:33 remaining, and Reeves added a free throw with 1:10 to play to extend the lead back to 53-48.
• Shorter's Taylor Adams scored a layup with 58 seconds remaining, and Raven Fair picked up a steal and a layup to cut the CBU lead to 53-52 with 49 seconds remaining. Reeves drew another foul with 30 seconds to play and made one of two free throws. Shorter missed on two chances to tie the game in the final 10 seconds.
KEY STATS:
• After setting a career-high with 31 against Lee Thursday night, Reeves scored 28 with a season-high 10 rebounds. She finished 10-of-15 from the floor, making both three-pointers, and 6-of-8 at the free throw line.
• Banks scored nine with five rebounds and two steals.
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Rachel Lee (Jackson, Tenn./Jackson Christian School) added eight with three assists.
• CBU finished 37.0 percent (17-of-46) from the floor but just 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from three-point range. The Lady Hawks shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) overall, including 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from beyond the arc.
• The Lady Bucs out-rebounded Shorter 34-33, but the Lady Hawks held a 12-8 edge in offensive boards and forced 16 CBU turnovers while committing 12.
HEAD COACH SARAH CONDRA'S THOUGHTS:
"I told them after the game if we could just put 40 minutes together, I'd like to see what it looks like, and how good we'd actually be. Two games in a row, a tale of two halves. I'll give credit to Shorter, because they pressured us in the second half and made us uncomfortable. We couldn't get it in to Sam as easily as we could in the first half. Somehow we found a way to pull it out, and I'm proud of that part."
"We haven't had a 19-point lead this year. That's just a new position for us. We didn't handle it as well in the second half. I think we'll be able to learn a few things from the film."
On Samantha Reeves:
"Her last three games have been really good. She's playing like a senior. I told her after the North Alabama game, when she only played 19 minutes because of foul trouble and she had 21 points, I know you're an All-Conference type of player. But we need you to play All-Conference minutes to be successful. Her defense in the last three games has been really good. She's stayed out of foul trouble and she's stayed on the floor. She's playing like a player on a mission right now. She's putting the team on her back. She's always good offensively, but I'm extremely proud of her defense and her leadership."
SAMANTHA REEVES' THOUGHTS:
"I cannot take any credit. Our whole team is really coming together and flowing well. I would say the fact that Madison Luckett and I are counting down the games together, I have 13 guaranteed games left. It makes you want to leave it all on the floor. It makes you want to give it all you've got every possession."
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Lady Bucs play their next four games on the road, starting Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. when they visit West Alabama. Their next home game is Thursday, Feb. 2, when they host West Georgia at 5 p.m.
