Former Campbell County Lady Cougar Sarah Cain, Number 45, grounded out a gritty 15 points and 8 rebounds, showing the high level of effort that the Bryan Lions have become accustomed to seeing from her.

BARBOURVILLE, KY (WLAF) – In their second game of the Union College Classic, the Appalachian Athletic Conference women’s basketball favorites 20th-ranked Bryan College, under Head Coach Jason Smith, were slated to face the Bethel University Pilots (Ind.).

After a comfortable win the previous night against Alice Lloyd (Ky.) behind the performances of a host of double-digit scorers, the Lions hoped to continue their momentum and go 2-0 on the weekend. A record-setting performance by the Lions would lead them to a 113-102 victory over the Pilots, setting the record for the highest-scoring game in program history. After setting the trend for team involvement the night before, the Lions continued to implement a variety of players into their game plan. Five players scored in double-digits for the Lions, three of which combined for 65 of their 113 points. A dominant performance on both sides of the ball led to the Lions jumping out to a 3-0 record on the year.

Saturday’s game showed the highs and lows for Bryan as they competed with the fast-paced Bethel University. As mentioned previously, team scoring was the most important aspect of the game. Shayla Ludy provided a spark off the bench, leading the team in scoring with 23 points on .50 percent shooting. Ludy also contributed 7 rebounds of the teams 51 total. Freshman Kaitlynn Hennessee continued the hot start to her college basketball career by providing major contributions to the Lions. She dominated the game with her career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds while also tacking on 5 assists. Former Campbell Lady Cougar Sarah Cain grounded out a gritty 15 points and 8 rebounds, showing the high level of effort that the Lions have become accustomed to seeing from her. Although the Lions’ scoring was generous throughout the game, they shot a surprisingly low percentage from the three-point line at only .27 percent. Despite their struggle to knock down the triple, they still finished the game shooting .48 percent from the field. Destiny Kassner led all Lions in field goal percentage, scoring 21 points on .53 percent shooting. Along with their three-point percentage, the Lions also struggled to protect the ball. Their 18 turnovers marked a season-high but were offset by the 22 turnovers they forced Bethel to commit. The Lions barely edged out the Pilots in the rebounding category, snagging 51 boards, compared to their opponent’s 47.

The Lions battled with Bethel throughout the majority of the game. The lead changed hands 6 times with Bethel holding the largest lead of the game. Despite the fast-paced game, Coach Smith and the Lions exerted discipline down the stretch to pull out the win. Over the weekend, Bryan demonstrated that they have the potential to make another run at the AAC title. The influx of new talent on the roster has proved to benefit the team and will continue to do so throughout the season. After jumping out to a 3-0 start, the future looks bright for the Lions.

Bryan will officially begin their march toward another conference crown this upcoming week with a midweek home matchup against the visiting Union College Bulldogs (Ky.) on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5:30pm. Union is currently 2-0 to start the year after downing both Bethel and Alice Lloyd in their weekend event.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 11/04/2019-6AM)

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