Basketball Splits Against Coastal and Brewton Parker

The Brenau basketball team split two road Southern States Athletic Conference games against Coastal Georgia and Brewton Parker (Ga.) College this past weekend.

Against Coastal Georgia, Brenau struggled early to put points on the board. Anikee Combee scored on a short jumper early, while Jasmine Williams added a layup of her own, but the Mariners kept the Golden Tiger offense under wraps early with a 15-8 lead.

Autumn Dodson nailed two three pointers in the second period to cut into the Coastal lead, while Dominique Patrick added a layup to help cut the deficit to 25-22 at the half.

Coastal again took command of the game as the Mariners scored early in the period, however freshman Lia Thomas rattled off six straight points to keep the game close.

In the fourth quarter, the Golden Tigers cut the Mariner lead to four with under two minutes to play, but were unable to secure the win.

Thomas led Brenau with a career-high 12 points and five rebounds.

Gabby O'Sullivan led Coastal Georgia with 15 points.

"We knew playing Coastal would be tough on the road after beating them in Gainesville," said head coach Kris Stewart. "They are a very good defensive team and we just couldn't finish shots."

Against Brewton Parker, the Golden Tigers found themselves down 20-10 midway through the first quarter. However, Dodson knocked down a three pointer to cut the lead to 20-13, and then Thomas scored on back-to-back baskets to close the gap to five at the end of the period.

In the second quarter, Brenau pounded the ball inside as Maegan Kenimer and Nekeia Brown combined for eight points in the period. The Golden Tigers continued their strong offensive play as Kalin Williams added six points of her own to outscore the Barons 24-14 in the period and take a 41-36 lead into intermission.

The Barons came out hot after halftime as the home team tied the game at 41-41 within two minutes. However, Brown continued her strong inside play, scoring eight of her 10 points in the period and Williams added six more points to help keep the score close. Brewton Parker's Lea Saunders hit a late jumper to take a 57-55 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams traded baskets throughout the period. Briah Woods scored two consecutive buckets late to give the Golden Tigers a five point lead. However, the Barons responded with a three pointer to cut the lead to two. With less than ten seconds to play, Dodson hit one of two free throws to give Brenau a three point lead. However Saunders nailed a 35 foot three pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime, Brenau stormed out to a four point lead behind baskets from Woods and Williams. The Barons stayed close with a jumper from Saunders, but Williams added another basket to keep the lead at three points. With less than ten seconds to go, Brenau turned the ball over, giving the Barons one last shot. However, the shot from the corner was blocked at the buzzer, allowing the Golden Tigers to escape with the victory.

Williams led Brenau with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Woods added 15 points and six rebounds. Brown added 10 points and six rebounds and Dodson chipped in 11. Thomas also added eight points and nine rebounds.

Saunders led all scorers with 44 points on 18-40 shooting.

"This road trip shows how difficult the SSAC is during February," said Stewart. "We struggled on offense against a tall Coastal Georgia team, but found our stride against a very game Brewton Parker squad. We knew Lea Saunders was a great scorer after scoring 35 in her previous game and she was tough to defend. However, our team came through and I am especially proud of our post players because they really took control after the first half and helped us earn this win."

Brenau (11-12 overall, 6-9 SSAC) next plays host to non-conference Tennessee Wesleyan on Tuesday at 5:30 eastern in Gainesville.