MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Lady Barons Basketball returned to play on Friday afternoon with a non-conference matchup against Ave Maria (Fla.) in the SSAC/Sun Conference Challenge at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Lady Barons (3-0) remain unbeaten this season, sneaking past a challenging Gyrenes (2-1) squad in a gritty 65-60 win in neutral territory.

"We won a tough game today," Head Coach Steve Edwards stated. "We were outplayed for most of the game, and we made a ton of immature mistakes. We must give credit to Ave Maria and the good game plan they executed."

"We found a way to win, and we showed some grit doing so," Edwards added. "Today we did not play good basketball, but it is always good to have these types of games early in the season. Neutral site matchups against quality opponents are always tough."

"We battled through some adversity today after Madison went down," Edwards mentioned. "We had several players step up and we will need our players to step up big time tomorrow."

How It Happened | 1st Q

• Nearly three minutes passed in the first quarter before Ave Maria opened the game on a 6-0 run.
• Brewton-Parker managed to level the score 7-7 with 4:42 left in the period as Drexelle Ward and Angel McRae knocked down back-to-back jumpers.
• After some late trades of scoring possessions, BPC leveled the game yet again with a bucket from Madison Evans with just over a minute left.
• The Gyrenes closed out the period with three unanswered points to lead 14-11.

How It Happened | 2nd Q

• Brewton-Parker opened the quarter with a 5-0 run coming from a bucket out of the hands of Keyanna Tolbert and a trey from Samerria Bryant to reclaim the lead, 16-14.
• Ave Maria responded with a pair of scores themselves to jump back out to a two-point lead with 7:00 on the clock.
• Most of the quarter was tight, as both teams traded scoring possessions highlighted by a three-pointer from Keonya Mincey to give BPC a 25-22 lead with 3:05 remaining.
• After battling late in the quarter, Cisley Copper sealed the half with two free throws to give BPC a 31-27 lead at the break.

How It Happened | 3rd Q

• Two-straight scores from Tolbert and McRae boosted the Lady Barons' lead to six points early in the opening moments of the quarter.
• AMU managed to knock the deficit down to just a two-possession game with 5:15 left, but BPC answered with a three-point play from Tolbert who converted the free throw with 3:44 on the clock.
• The Gyrenes pulled the advantage down to three points with a four-point surge.
• However, the Lady Barons closed out the period with five points and a 48-42 lead.

How It Happened | 4th Q

• Brewton-Parker jumped out to an 11-point advantage early in the fourth quarter with a five-point shift.
• Copper hit a huge three-pointer with 5:30 left to give BPC a 56-44 lead.
• Ave Maria didn't back down, surging on an 11-0 run to pull the game down to just one possession with 1:35 left.
• The Lady Barons managed to hold off the Gyrenes, forcing AMU to fouls which sealed the 65-60 win.

Inside The Statistics

• Brewton-Parker shot for 35.1% (20-of-57) from the floor, 31.8% (7-of-22) from three, and 60% (18-of-30) from the foul line.
• A trio of Lady Barons scored double-digit points with McRae leading the way with a double-double performance, scoring 13 points and snagging 18 rebounds.
• Copper scored 13 as well followed by Sy-Marieonna Williams with 11 points.

Other Notables

• Ave Maria edged out Brewton-Parker 43-41 in rebounds.
• The Lady Barons won the turnover battle as the Gyrenes gave up the ball 28 times compared to BPC's 21 turnovers.
• BPC recorded 16 second-chance points and 20 points off turnovers.

Next Up

• Brewton-Parker will remain in Montgomery for the weekend with a matchup against St. Thomas (Fla.) on Saturday at Noon ET.