Brenau Beats SWU on Senior Day

The Brenau basketball team finished their season in fine form on Saturday against conference rival Southern Wesleyan University, capping off the year with a 72-68 victory at home. The Tigers (13-17; SSAC 7-12) jumped out to an immediate lead to start the game, charging past SWU(11-17; SSAC 8-12) 15-4 in the first few minutes of play. Not to be outdone, the Warriors fought their way back, tying the game 30-30 with two minutes left in the half and eventually securing the lead at 35-34 going into the halftime.

Brenau trailed closely for the first 10 minutes of play in the second period, until a 3-point conversion by Olivia Williams tied the game at 47-47 with 9 minutes left. The Warriors fought back to regain the lead once again, until a huge 3-pointer by sophomore Kori Suber finally put the Tigers back on top 54-53 with 6 minutes remaining in the contest. The last few minutes saw several more lead changes, until the Tigers managed to pull away in the final 2 minutes.

Despite not shooting particularly well at 29% from the field, the Tigers made up for it with an outstanding rebounding effort: pulling down 64 boards to SWU's 36. Brenau did connect for a season-high of 80% from the free throw line, going 30-38 from the stripe. Leading the effort for the Warriors was Shandrice Erby with 17 points, along with Janaye Gillard with 16. Brenau was led by junior Nikki Reed, turning in yet another double-double performance with 20 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Reed also connected on 10-12 from the free throw line. Sophomore point guard Brittney Wiley added 14 points and 3 assists, while sophomore Tatiana Khudiakova chipped in 10 points and 4 blocked shots. In an astounding and record-breaking rebounding performance, junior Gabby Harvey pulled down 25 rebounds in the contest. The Tiger's lone senior this year, Amanda Parker, contributed some key rebounds and scores, adding 5 boards to go along with her 4 points and 3 assists. The Golden Tigers honored Parker after the contest for her four years of dedication to the program, as she graduates in May.

The Tigers finish up the season with a final record of 13-17, going 7-12 in the highly competitive SSAC. Brenau has several players with national rankings: Gabby Harvey is ranked #10 in the nation in rebounds per game (10.8); Nikki Reed is ranked #29 in offensive rebounds per game (3.5); Brittney Wiley is ranked #31 in free throw percentage (81%); and Tatiana Khudiakova is ranked #31 in blocks per game (1.5).