Basketball Earns Road Win Over St. Andrews

The Brenau basketball team used another strong defensive effort to defeat St. Andrews (NC) College 74-71 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play on Tuesday in Laurinburg.

After getting behind 24-21 in the first quarter, the Brenau defense stifled the host Knights in the second quarter, allowing only six points to take a 34-30 lead into intermission.

In the third quarter, the Golden Tiger offense found its rhythm with four consecutive baskets to start the period. Lia Thomas hit a short baseline jumper to open the half, while Ashanti Brown scored in the post for a 38-30 lead. Jasmine Knight hit a driving layup to increase the lead to 10, and then Madison Phillips capped off the 8-0 run to give Brenau a comfortable lead.

"Earning a road conference win is always a plus," said head coach Kris Stewart. "St. Andrews is very strong and physical, but we adjusted and had a really strong defensive second quarter. Our offense showed growth in the third quarter as we executed very well after halftime."

"I'm pleased with our progress and I expect that we will continue to improve as a team."

Autumn Dodson led all scorers with 31 points, including a career-high eight three pointers. The senior was 9-16 from the floor and 8-11 from three point range. Knight added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, while Phillips tied her season high with 10 points.

Samantha Ring led the Knights with 20 points.

Brenau (4-2 overall, 2-2 AAC) returns home for a conference matchup against Columbia (SC) College on Thursday at 5:30 in Gainesville.