Taking Care of Business: Bobcats Earn First Ever National Tournament Win
In their second game of the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, the Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats (10 seed) dominated Gogebic Community College...
WAUWATOSA, WI (March 22, 2018) – In their second game of the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, the Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats (10 seed) dominated Gogebic Community College (15 seed) 97-72 in a resounding victory. The Bobcats will move on to the final four of the consolation bracket and play 14th seeded Macomb on Friday at 11:00am CT.
At the opening tip-off, the Bobcats were rolling as Freshman forward JaTaviah Conley (Milwaukee, WI) took the ball coast-to-coast to score the first basket of the game. Getting out to a 25-11 lead to end the first quarter had the Bobcats in a groove and they were not going to let up on the gas.
"We had played this team twice in the regular season and it's a very difficult to beat a team three times in one year so we knew that is was necessary to come out and strike first," Bobcats head coach Jeff Lorenz said.
To start the second quarter, the Bobcats continued to pile on more points and extended their lead to fifteen. After a timeout to stop the Bobcats run, the Samsons knocked down consecutive threes which brought them back within nine points and five minutes remaining in the half.
With just seconds remaining before the break, Bobcats guard Jazlyn Drake (Milwaukee, WI) knocked down a contested three-point buzzer beater and put the Bobcats up 44-32 at halftime.
"That was a big shot even though we were up," Lorenz said. "The momentum started swinging their way but when Jaz hit that shot it gave us a boost going into halftime and starting the third quarter."
The second half opened-up with a spin move in the paint by Conley which extended the Bobcats lead to fourteen and they never looked back.
The Bobcats were up 26 points with five minutes left and were well on their way to securing the first ever Bryant & Stratton national tournament win.
"This feels great," Lorenz said. "To be the first team in school history earn a national tournament win is a very special moment for these girls."
The Bobcats ended the game shooting 46 percent from the field and 14-26 from the charity strike.
Kyla Pitts (Milwaukee, WI) led the way for the Bobcats dropping 19 points followed by Drake with 14 points and five assists.
Sitting at 1-1 in national tournament play, the journey is not over yet for the Bobcats as they have their sights set on winning the consolation bracket.
The final four contest between the Bobcats and Macomb can be viewed live at www.njcaatv.com.
Tip-off will take place at 11am.
