BEREA, Ky. - The Brevard College's women's basketball team (3-7, 1-3 USAS) fell in USA South Conference play, 88-50, to the Berea College Mountaineers (7-2, 2-0 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at the Seabury Center in Berea, Kentucky.
The matchup marked the first for Head Coach Donald Hudson's squad since a December 7th victory over Wesleyan College.
Freshman point guard Mekindia Martin set her new career-high with 12 points. The Atlanta native led all Tornado shooters by making three 3-pointers. Junior forward Destiny Williams added 11 points, eight boards, and three assists, while fellow junior forward Deja Riddick grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Sophomores Avery Lockwood and Breana Ware paced all reserve players for Brevard in Saturday's contest. Ware scored eight points and hauled in seven rebounds, while Lockwood added seven points and six boards.
The Mountaineers used four double-digit scoring efforts to help win the contest handily. Briana Lanham led the scoring charge with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Aaliyah Hampton (18 points), Destiny Combs (14 points), and Nakeisha Greene (10 points) also contributed double-digit scoring totals. Combs and Greene each led Berea with eight rebounds, while Greene recorded a game-high four blocks.
Berea's 46% field goal percentage dwarfed Brevard's 27% mark from the field, while the Mountaineers outshot the Tornados, 39% to 20% from distance.
Brevard's 19 turnovers proved costly, as those miscues turned into a total of 19 Mountaineer points-off-turnovers. The host Mountaineers outscored the Tornados, 42-24 on points in the paint.
After a 13-3 scoring run by Berea that opened up the game's first five minutes, the Tornados battled back, cutting Berea's lead to three points (16-13, 3:45), and four points (22-18) at the end of the first quarter.
The Tornados were able to keep their deficit within single digits through the majority of the second quarter, however, an 11-2 scoring run to close the second period out left Brevard trailing by a 48-30 margin.
Berea was able to take control of the contest, outscoring the Tornados, 25-10 in a big third quarter. The Mountaineers rode that momentum towards the finish line, taking the conference victory, 88-50.
The Tornados now turn their attention to a pair of exhibition contests at NCAA DI opponents. Brevard will travel to Clinton, South Carolina next Saturday, December 21 for a 2 p.m. tip-off vs. Presbyterian College.
BC will then take off for the holidays before returning to action on Thursday, January 2, 2020, by facing Wofford College for the third-straight season in exhibition play. The Terriers and Tornados will play at 2 p.m.
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