Lions Dominate Eagles in Top 25 AAC Clash

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
 
WALESKA, Ga. – A fast start and a dominant second quarter was all No. 17 Bryan (Tenn.) needed to secure its hold atop the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) standings over No. 23 Reinhardt, as the Lions roared to a 95-83 road triumph despite a career-high 33 points from Catherine Shope off the bench.

The Eagles (11-2, 8-2 AAC) have now dropped two of their last three decisions on the hardwood after shooting just 39.2 percent and allowing shots to fall at a 61.7-percent clip for the visitors.

"Pretty simple tonight; we got thumped," head coach Toby Wagoner said. "I thought we came back from break with a couple good practices, a couple not-so-good practices and a really good shoot around today. Unfortunately, we are learning the value of being consistent and playing like you practice. I feel like we played hard, just didn't execute offensively or defensively. All credit goes to BC and Coach Smith – they came into our house and took care of business.

"We will learn from this and get better. It must be fast with three games next week and the next six games on the road. We will be tested, that's for sure."

The Bryan pair of Kaitlynn Hennessee (34 points) and Shayla Ludy (20) caused havoc all night against the hometown team, helping pour in baskets and put a stop to any runs Reinhardt may have had up its sleeve.

An eight-point advantage after 10 minutes of play ballooned to 23 just after the start of the second half thanks in large part to a 19-5 run in the second stanza. The Eagles would show a lot of heart and start to make multiple comebacks, but each time they got closer to striking distance, the Lions would hit a timely 3-pointer or get a key turnover to create more offense.

Reinhardt would cut into its overall deficit by six points in the second half – winning each of the final two periods – but couldn't put Bryan into any real pressure situations the rest of the way.

Bethany Headrick was another bright spot for the Eagles in defeat, as she netted 21 points and five rebounds – one of four players with a handful of boards. 

Brittany Burnett added 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.

The Eagles also made 10 treys and went 15-for-16 from the charity stripe.

The team looks to get back to its winning ways on Jan. 7 in a road matchup with Truett-McConnell (Ga.) at 5:30 p.m.

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