MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs never trailed in a 69-54 win over Auburn-Montgomery Tuesday night at Canale Arena as they evened their record in Gulf South Conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Lady Bucs (3-7, 2-2 GSC) jumped to a 12-4 lead early as Courtney Banks (Memphis, Tenn./White Station HS) capped the opening run with a triple with 4:55 remaining in the first quarter.
• AUM (6-5, 2-3) used a 9-2 run to close within 14-13 on a Jemaiya Lee layup with 24 seconds remaining in the quarter.
• After CBU rebuilt its lead back to 24-17 on a Banks jumper with 7:15 remaining in the first half, the Warhawks pulled even with a 7-0 burst capped by a Kyla Rooks bucket that tied the game at 24 with 5:08 remaining in the half.
• CBU answered with five quick points to regain the lead for good. First, Mikaela Blissett (Oran, Mo./Scott County Central HS) scored a layup to put CBU back on top, then Brynne Lytle (Jackson, Tenn./Trinity Christian Academy) scored a three-point play with 3:34 remaining in the half to give the Lady Bucs a 29-24 edge.
• The Lady Bucs pulled away late in the third quarter, using a 17-7 run to turn a 36-32 lead into a 53-39 one on a Rafaella Angelidou (Thessaloniki, Greece/Aristoteleio Kollegeio) layup with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter. 
• The Warhawks never came closer than nine again as CBU led by as many as 18 points in the final minutes.

KEY STATS:
• Banks scored a game-best 15 points with three rebounds and three assists.
• Angelidou scored 14 with four assists and four rebounds.
• Kelsey Adkins (Lawrenceburg, Tenn./Lawrence County HS) added 13 with six boards.
• Blissett scored four points but set career-highs with 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Her 14 rebounds were a season-high for CBU and tied for 16th-most in a game in school history.
• The Lady Bucs shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, including 25 percent (7-of-28) from three-point range. AUM finish 36.8 percent (21-of-57) overall, including 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from beyond the arc.
• The Lady Bucs out-rebounded AUM 44-25, including a 16-7 edge in offensive boards, but they committed 15 turnovers to the Warhawks' 12.

HEAD COACH SARAH CONDRA'S THOUGHTS:
On the team's strong third quarter:
"The thing about the third quarter was that it felt like we actually started off slow. We went three possessions without scoring. Seven times we went three possessions in a row without scoring, but brought that down to only three times in the second half. One of which was early in the third quarter. After that though, we were scoring quite a bit. It's something we've worked on quite a bit, trying to get out and play a bit faster with tempo. Try to look ahead and get some easy buckets this is the most fast break points we've had all season with 13. We had 20 assists and 15 turnovers. Part of that is just us shooting the ball at a higher percentage and keeping our heads up to get some assists."

On the 1st half:
"One thing we did in the second half versus the first half is that we were very conscious to keep three starters out on the floor every time. Just to add some experience and it seemed to work out better in the second half."

On having Courtney Banks back:
"She's got three years of experience and being our leader on the floor. We got the leadership part and scoring tonight with 15 points. I think she's still getting her game wind under her, but she'll get it back by the end of this steak of games."

On the upcoming schedule:
"It's a tough game schedule, especially with practice 5 days and then playing. It is nice to not have class though, when we had three road trips and kids fell a bit behind in class. We played so many road games already though that we only have two long road trips this semester, so it's nice to have so many home games."

On Mikaela Blissett's strong play:
"This is the type of player she is, I read off her stats to her walking into the locker room and she just goes "coach I wasn't scoring so I had to find another way to contribute". With the 14 rebounds and 5 assists, she certainly did. She finds a way to contribute. She was texting me the other night about her matchup tonight and wanted to watch some more film. That's just the type of player she, always wants to do what she can to make this team successful. If she needs to score, get boards, she'll do it. She's a team player and it gives your team a boost to have someone like that on the team."

On Rafaella Angelidou's night:
"She's feeling more comfortable out there. I challenged her the other day coming off the Union game, because I thought she was settling for too many outside shots and not trusting how good she can be inside. So I challenged her to have more twos and then tonight she went 7 for 10 if you out the three point shots. Hopefully that gets her some confidence, because she is playing really well for us and finally feeling comfortable with what we're doing offensively, finding her niche in the offense."

On Kelsey Adkins' breakout game:
"Tonight was big for her to have a game like this. This is what we know she's capable of doing and hopefully it gives her a bit more confidence moving forward. Again we didn't settle for as many 3s in the second half, instead going for more inside. She shot a three in the second half but was scoring in the paint and that was the difference in the second half. We had 10 points in the paint in the 1st half and 20 in the 2nd. We were more aggressive going towards the basket."

On Brynne Lytle's game:
"I was proud of her going 8 and 6 tonight. She played well defensively and it was a solid night for her."

On Emily Reeves' defense:
"She had a tough matchup tonight going against number 14. It was a player they really looked to get to score. Emily held her to 0 for 7 from the floor. She played solid and coming off maybe three of her best practices of the year."

On the senior class:
"It makes me kind of sad to think about the quarters winding down on these seniors. They've been with me and brought so much to this program. As much as we've struggled record wise, these kids have not backed down one bit. They haven't put their heads down and have gotten better each day. I'm proud of the whole team, but it stems from that senior leadership. They come to work everyday regardless of what's going on and they keep their heads about them. It's why we can continue to get better and win this game tonight."
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Lady Bucs return to action Thursday night at 5 p.m. as they host West Georgia.