ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The Brevard College women's basketball team (16-10) was unable to withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally by North Carolina Wesleyan University (18-8), as the Battling Bishops eliminated the Tornados from the USA South Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, 68-62 on Thursday night in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
The defeat concludes a record-breaking season for the Tornados, who finished with the program's most single-season wins (16) and conference wins (12) in the NCAA era.
Junior forward Makenna Parkins and sophomore center Naliyah Boyce each led Brevard with 14 points apiece. Boyce grabbed a team-best best eight rebounds while Parkins totaled six. Parkins also logged a team-high three steals.
Freshman forward Olivia Miller and sophomore guard Lexi Shepard each scored 11 points apiece, as four Tornados reached double figures in the contest. Alexis Marshall and Chyna Pouncey each grabbed six boards apiece.
Kayrisma Harrison led all NC Wesleyan scorers with 16 points, while Corynthian Williams added 14 points. Three Battling Bishops grabbed nine boards apiece as NC Wesleyan won the battle on the boards, 47-34.
BC fell despite a 47% to 38% edge in field goal percentage. The Tornados were hindered by a 5-for-13 mark at the free-throw line while turnovers, assists, second-chance points, and points in the paint were nearly even.
The semifinal matchup featured eight lead changes and four ties as the two sides went back and forth for much of the contest.
Trailing by one point, 11-10, at the 1:30 mark in the first quarter, Brevard went on an 8-0 scoring run that gave the Tornados an 18-11 edge at the end of the first period. Boyce had six points and three rebounds, while USA South Conference Rookie of the Year Miller added five points.
NC Wesleyan was able to chip the deficit down to three points, 26-23, with 3:30 left in the second stanza, but consecutive buckets from Miller, Parkins, and Calli Wells helped Brevard take a seven-point margin, 32-25, into the halftime break.
NC Wesleyan opened the third quarter on a 12-4 run to take a one-point lead, 37-36. Brevard answered right back with an 11-4 run of its own to take an eight-point, 48-40 advantage with 1:27 left in the third quarter. From that point, however, the Battling Bishops went on a game-altering 23-6 scoring stretch over the next eight minutes of game action, as the hosts found themselves up by nine 63-54. Brevard attempted to get back into the contest, pulling within six points after a Parkins transition layup 66-60, but the effort proved too late as NCWU earned a spot in the Championship game with its 68-62 victory.
BC concludes its highly-successful season that included a conference Rookie of the Year award for Miller and an All-Conference First Team spot for Parkins. Additionally, four Tornados were recently named College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-Region.
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-BC-