CLEVELAND, TN (WLAF) – The Bryan women’s basketball team took a break from regular-season play last week with its annual exhibition matchup at NCAA Div. II opponent Lee University.   Both squads have been extremely successful in their respective divisions, with Bryan ranking 20th in the NAIA and Lee coming in at No. 10 in the NCAA Div. II poll. The Lions are currently 7-0 overall, and the Flames are 5-0 overall with a promising chance of both teams climbing in their rankings. Despite the talented offenses of both sides, it was anything but a shootout on Wednesday. Bryan entered the contest averaging 87 points per game while Lee carried a 71 points per game average. After 40 minutes, it was the Flames who narrowly outlasted the Lions by a mere 10 points, 58-48.

Former Campbell County Lady Cougar Sarah Cain (45) continues to shine as a Bryan College Lady Lion.

Bryan shot 26.2 percent from the floor compared to Lee’s 29.6, but the Lions got the edge in three-point shooting (22.2 percent) and free throw percentage (90.9). Lee won the rebounding battle 50-43 and committed 10 turnovers while forcing Bryan into 17. Even though neither team necessarily shined in their performance statistically, the Lions’ ability to hold the top-ranked Flames to only a 10-point margin is not to be overlooked.

Leading Bryan in the scoring column was Karli Combs with 12 points and Deandra Luna with 11 points. Both players were the only two from the Lions to notch double-digits. Combs finished with a 3-of-6 showing from the floor that included making 2-of-4 behind the arc and a perfect 4-of-4 at the foul line. Luna shot 3-of-9 from the outside and matched teammate former Campbell County Lady Cougar Sarah Cain with a game-high nine rebounds. Luna was also Bryan’s leader in assists and steals with three and two, respectively. Cain followed with eight points and two assists, Kaitlynn Hennessee produced five points and six boards, Shayla Ludy tallied four points and six rebounds, and all four of Destiny Kassner, Amadea Pankey, Tristan McClellan, and Myah Parlier rounded out the scoring with two apiece.

On only two occasions in the game was the count tied, and both occurred in the opening frame when Hennessee scored in the paint to make it 5-5 and Pankey capitalized down low to make it 7-7. While Lee led the rest of the time, Bryan kept close distance by the conclusion of the first quarter, behind only five points at 14-9. The second quarter was the Lions’ low point of the day after taking four and a half minutes to finally answer for their first point of the frame. Hennessee drew the foul and made both free throws, trimming the difference to 11 points, 22-11. Besides a last-second foul shot by Hennessee, Bryan’s only other made shot in the quarter was a three-pointer by Ludy at 3:12. The 1-of-10 shooting in the quarter left the Lions trailing 26-15 at the break.

The Flames scorched their way to a 15-point lead at the 6-minute mark in the third quarter, 32-17, but the Lions turned on the heat for the next three minutes and rallied for a 12-2 run that decreased the gap to five points, 34-29. Unfortunately, the next and final three minutes of the quarter Lee kept Bryan scoreless and built their lead back to 16 points, 45-29. The Lions managed to outscore the NCAA challenger 19-13 in the fourth quarter, but the effort came too late, as the Flames went on to win 58-48.

After outscoring the visiting Rams of Columbia International University (S.C.) 31-15 in the opening frame of Saturday’s Appalachian Athletic Conference clash, the 20th-ranked Bryan Lions women’s basketball team went on to top the Rams in the three following quarters en route to a commanding 97-63 victory. The win marked the 8th straight for Bryan, as the team improved to a perfect 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the AAC. CIU fell to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in conference play.  Former Campbell County Lady Cougar Sarah Cain finished with four points in the win.

One game stands between Bryan and Thanksgiving break: a rivalry matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at home versus the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs at 7:30pm. Tennessee Wesleyan currently owns an overall record of 3-4 and conference mark of 3-2.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 11/25/2019-6AM)