Reinhardt Can't Hold on at Bluefield Friday

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

Photo Courtesy of Greg Spell/G-RoxPhotos.com

BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Rams of Bluefield (Va.) were able to post a pair of strong quarters on the court Friday night at home – most notably the fourth period – where they topped the 20-point mark for the second time in the game to slide past the Eagles, 69-65, and claim a victory within the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

The upset inside the Dome Gymnasium drops Reinhardt to 3-2.

"Definitely a tough and disappointing loss tonight," head coach Toby Wagoner said. "Unfortunately, the ball didn't bounce our way and we just didn't get things going. On the positive side, it was fun to get back on the court. It felt like we hadn't played in month. Coach Mullins had his team focused and ready to go; I wish I could say the same for us. I did not have us ready to go, nor were we prepared to play a well-coached team like Bluefield.

"This road trip doesn't get any easier as tomorrow we travel to Grayson to play a tough Kentucky Christian team that just picked up a big win this week. I have confidence in our team, and we will definitely be ready for the grind."

The hometown squad, who was guided by Catherine Shope and her team-high 21 points (five treys) off the bench, held a small lead after the first stanza (19-15). The Rams were able to get hot from the floor and net 23 tallies to head to the locker room ahead by five, 38-33.

The Eagles appeared to have made the necessary adjustments after the break and were able to slow Bluefield's offense to only seven points while regaining the advantage on the scoreboard with just 10 minutes remaining, 46-45.

The ball bounced the host's way on this night, as the Rams got back on the scoring track and completed the contest by connecting on 50 percent of their shots (23-for-46), including 14-of-27 from beyond the arc.

Not to be outdone for Reinhardt, Symone Williams (10 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds) and Brittany Burnett (10 points and 4 steals) also had solid evenings. Lexie Wright also chipped in off the bench with seven points and five boards.

The Eagles shot 24-for-64 (37.5 percent) and hit 10 shots from deep in the loss.

The squad looks to rebound tomorrow afternoon at Kentucky Christian at 2 p.m. 

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