MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Lady Barons Basketball continued play at the SSAC/Sun Challenge in Montgomery, Alabama on Saturday with a matchup against St. Thomas (Fla.) at the Cramton Bowl.

The Lady Barons (3-1) fell to the Bobcats (3-0) in a tight, 75-73 loss for the first defeat of the 2022-23 campaign.

"We didn't play well to win today," Head Coach Steve Edwards said after the game. "We showed some fight late, but we need consistency from our older players.

"There are some key pieces missing, but we will not use that as an excuse," Edwards added. "We have to find a way for the next player to step up and get the job done."

"We will get some much-needed rest and get a few people healthy," Edwards mentioned. "We are back to work on Monday."

How It Happened | 1st Q

• A bucket from Tajahnae Wiggins opened the game up, giving BPC the early lead.
• St. Thomas jumped out to utilize a 17-5 run over the course of four minutes to lead by 10 points.
• After a three-pointer from Cisley Copper with 3:29 to play, the Lady Barons eventually strung together a pair of scores from Wiggins and Angel McRae.
• BPC was able to pull the deficit down to just five points with 1:22 remaining on the clock, before closing out the period behind, 23-16.

How It Happened | 2nd Q

• Drexelle Ward opened the quarter by knocking down a big bucket from beyond the arc to pull the Lady Barons within four points.
• After a successful trip down the floor from STU, A'Aliyah Clay hit a trey with 8:00 to play to put BPC just one possession behind.
• The Bobcats advanced out to an 8-point lead with 6:55 left to play in the half, taking advantage of a BPC turnover.
• A few moments later, Keyanna Tolbert gathered back-to-back buckets to put the Lady Barons just four points behind St. Thomas, 30-26 with 5:28 remaining.
• After some back and forth between the two sides, BPC closed out the half with a score from Clay to knock STU's advantage to just three points.
• BPC outscored STU 18-14 in the quarter and closed out the half behind, 37-34.

How It Happened | 3rd Q

• St. Thomas managed to jump out to a 10-point lead about halfway through the third quarter, leading 50-40.
• Both teams traded trips down the floor, but the Bobcats remained in control for most of the period.
• Brewton-Parker surged late in the quarter with an 11-2 run that was capped off by Sy-Marieona Williams knocking in a shot at the buzzer to level the score, 56-56.

How It Happened | 4th Q

• BPC reclaimed the lead early in the fourth quarter as Tolbert and McRae boosted the advantage to four points with just over eight minutes to play.
• St. Thomas answered with a three-pointer to pull within one but Williams shut that door with a huge trey of her own to give BPC the four-point lead.
• With 5:07 to play, the Lady Barons relinquished the lead as the Bobcats went on a 7-0 run to secure the lead by three points.
• The Bobcats began to slip away from the Lady Barons down the stretch, leading 73-66 with just under two minutes left.
• BPC finished the game out with a 7-2 run but fell shy of a comeback, dropping the first loss of the season, 75-73.

Inside The Statistics

• A total of four players scored in double figures with Tolbert leading the way with 12.
• Keonya Mincey and Wiggins both scored 11 each while McRae recorded her second-straight double-double, scoring 11 points and snagging 14 boards.
• As a team, BPC shot for 38.2% (26-of-68) from the field, 35% (7-of-20) from three, and 66.7% (14-of-21) from the charity stripe.

Other Notables

• Brewton-Parker held a 40-37 advantage in rebounds while narrowly winning the turnover battle 14-16.
• BPC's bench produced 26 points with the Lady Barons scoring 21 points from turnovers.

Next Up

• Brewton-Parker will come home to Mount Vernon to take on Voorhees (S.C.) on Thursday night for the home opener in Gillis Gymnasium.