Tigers Come Up Short Against #1 Union

Daytona Beach, FL- The Brenau basketball team took on NAIA #1 ranked Union, TN today at the Daytona Beach Shootout and came up on the short end of a 76-57 score, but they came away with a lot of confidence after playing right with the Bulldogs for much of the game. Union, who has won the National Championship for the past three years, moves to 13-1 and the Tigers drop to 7-4 with all four losses to ranked teams. Union led for the entire game, but Brenau closed the gap on several occasions, once in the first half to three points before falling behind 37-26 at the half.The Tigers made one other run in the second half to get the score to 50-42 before the Bulldogs pushed the lead back to double digits. Senior Ashley Hagans with 15 and Freshman Nikki Reed with 11 were the only BU players in double figures and Reed also led the team with six rebounds. Paige Cooper finished with nine and Tori Collins had eight, including a pair of three pointers. Union dominated the boards, winning that battle 51-32 and also outshot Brenau .471 to .338. "I was extremely proud of our team for the way we competed in both games down here and I think we showed we can play with the best teams in the country," said Coach Gary Bays. "We are excited to get back home for a six game stretch after playing eight of our first eleven games on the road." The Tigers will start that homestand next Monday with a 6 pm contest against Tennessee Wesleyan.