Brenau Basketball Drops Season Opener

The Brenau Golden Tigers basketball team dropped their opening game to Montreat (N.C.) College, 84-70 on the road on Saturday.

The Golden Tigers started off sluggish, slipping into an early ten-point deficit, 16-6. At the ten minute mark in the first half, the offense began to roll as two straight jumpers by sophomore Kalin Williams (Palmetto, Ga.) cut into the Montreat lead. Missed free throws, however, kept the Golden Tigers at bay, missing 11 in the first half, allowing the Cavaliers to take a 41-28 halftime lead.

In the second half, the young Golden Tigers made a furious comeback as Brittney Wiley (Royston,Ga.) got hot from the arc and hit three successive three-pointers. Tala Black (Marietta, Ga.) added another three-pointer to cut the Cavalier lead to two points late in the second half, but the Golden Tigers were unable to secure the lead.

Brenau was led by Williams's 18 points and seven rebounds. Wiley added 15 points, while Anela Durmic (Grayson, Ga.) added nine points. Jasmine Butler (Gainesville, Ga.) added seven points and six rebounds.

The Cavaliers were led by Kaitlyn Clontz's 22 points.

"We struggled in the first ten minutes and shot poorly from the free throw line in the first half (9-20)," said head coach Kris Stewart. "We showed a lot of heart in our comeback and got some really nice performances from some young players in their first collegiate game. We scored 70 points, which is a plus, but we need to tighten up some things and continue to gain experience".

The Golden Tigers return to the hardwood on Tuesday in their home opener when they face Tennessee Wesleyan at 6:00.