MOUNT VERNON, Ga. – Brewton-Parker Women's Basketball hosted Life (Ga.) on Saturday afternoon for a Southern States Athletic Conference matchup in Mount Vernon.

The Lady Barons (13-7, 5-5 SSAC) slipped to the Running Eagles (15-4, 8-3 SSAC) in a tight 65-61 loss in Gillis Gymnasium.

"We played a solid game today, but we were not able to close," Head Coach Steve Edwards said. "Life played to win in the fourth quarter while we played not to lose. We must find a way to close out games and credit goes to Life because they found a way to beat us today."

How It Happened | First Quarter

The Running Eagles came out fighting early, knocking the Lady Barons on the ropes with a 7-0 punch in the first two and a half minutes. Angel McRae was able to finally land a bucket for BPC at the seven-minute mark before the visitors pulled to a 9-2 advantage with 6:03 on the clock.

Brewton-Parker responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes of action to level the game at nine points apiece. Life broke the draw with a 5-2 stretch to lead 14-11 with 2:36 remaining in the opening quarter. The Lady Barons were able to finish the final two minutes with a 10-3 run capped by three-pointers from A'Aliyah Clay and Keonya Mincey to grasp a 21-17 lead.

How It Happened | Second Quarter

After an opening bucket from Life at the 9:49 mark, Mincey and the Lady Barons moved to a 24-19 lead with a shot from deep distance at the 8:39 mark. Over the next three or so minutes, Brewton-Parker advanced to a 32-23 advantage with a 7-4 scoring stretch highlighted by treys from Le'la Wright and Clay.

Scoring from the floor slowed dramatically for the following two minutes. A total of four points were produced from the foul line between both teams, as Brewton-Parker held a 35-24 lead with 2:10 left to play.

The quarter ended with a layup from Life at 1:55 while Clay beat out the buzzer with a jumper in the paint to take the Lady Barons to halftime with a 37-26 advantage. BPC bested the Running Eagles 16-9 in the quarter.

How It Happened | Third Quarter

Both teams battled in the third installment of Saturday's contest, as Brewton-Parker held a 16-15 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Life chipped away at the double-digit deficit and moved the score to 39-32 in favor of BPC.

The Lady Barons took a large chunk of time away and produced an 11-2 run to pull away to their largest lead of the afternoon, leading 50-34 with 2:19 remaining in the quarter. Life finished the quarter on a 7-3 stretch but remained behind Brewton-Parker, 53-41 with 10 minutes of regulation to play.

How It Happened | Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter proved to be unfavorable for Brewton-Parker as the Running Eagles dominated the quarter, outscoring the hosts 24-8. Life opened the first few minutes of the quarter with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit down to just three points with 6:49 to play.

Brewton-Parker was battling to keep control of the score in back-and-forth play, but the Running Eagles eventually clawed their way to level the score at 61-61 with less than a minute to play. Life finished with a layup and a pair of free throws to secure the 65-61 victory.

Inside The Statistics

• BPC finished shooting for 36.5% (23-of-63) from the floor, 19.4% (6-of-31) from three, and 56.3% (9-of-16) from the foul line.
• Mincey led BPC with 16 points while Clay was following close behind with 15 points.
• Clay also led BPC with six steals and three assists.
• Wright finished with 10 points while McRae gathered eight points and a game-leading 17 rebounds.
• The BPC defense took advantage of 15 turnovers from Life, gathering 11 steals in the process.

Next Up

• Brewton-Parker will prepare for their next matchup on Thursday as they hit the road to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face Stillman at 6:30 p.m. ET.