Basketball Falls Short in Season Opener

October 31, 2019

Cochran, Georgia- A second half rally came up just short as the Brenau women's basketball team fell 73-67 to Middle Georgia State University in the season opener on Wednesday.

After a lackluster first quarter, senior Cameron Mims scored on a layup to cut the score to 25-20 with five minutes remaining in the second period. Another Mims basket cut the score to three with 2:43 remaining, however the Knights closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 36-26.

The Knights held their lead throughout the third quarter until junior Hanna Grogan got a steal and a layup to cut the lead to 45-42, then Mims scored off an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to one. However, another 12-2 run by the Knights at the end of the period gave the host team a 57-46 lead going into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, the Golden Tigers went on a run of their own as Grogan scored and was fouled for a three point play to make the score 61-56. On the next possession, freshman Katherine Fourie nailed a three pointer from the corner to make the score 61-59. The game stayed close throughout the remainder of the game, but the Golden Tigers were unable to take the lead.

"This was a game of runs and Middle Georgia made the last run of the game," said head coach Kris Stewart. "We had a lot of first-game jitters early and it made it hard to come back. Credit to our players who fought back throughout the second half. Middle Georgia is a huge, physical team and we really showed determination against them."

Cameron Mims posted a career-high 24 points and nine rebounds and junior Hanna Grogan posted 14 points and four rebounds in the loss.

Fourie added 13 points in her first collegiate game, while junior Tatyiana McClendon added eight points and seven rebounds.

Joy Sadler led Middle Georgia with 22 points.

The Golden Tigers struggled from the arc, shooting 4-22 (18%) from three point range and 13-23 (57%) from the foul line.

Brenau next hosts Voorhees (S.C.) College at 2 pm on Saturday in a non-conference matchup.