Tornados Earn First Victory of 2021-22 Season with Mountain Top Madness Win Over Berry

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – The Brevard College women's basketball team (1-1) defeated Berry College (1-3) 65-52 to earn the first victory of the season for the 2021-22 Tornados in a neutral-site affair at the Mountain Top Madness Classic held on the campus of Covenant College in Lookout Mountain Georgia.  

Graduate student Destiny Williams led all players with a 23-point performance on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe.  The native of Aiken, South Carolina also recorded game highs of nine rebounds and four steals.

Williams, who registered a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds on Friday night vs. Greenville University in game one of the Mountain Top Madness Classic, was named to the event's All-Tournament Team for her performance over the two games.  In total, Williams averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds, while recording nine steals over the weekend.

Senior Shakirah Thompson scored a season-high 15 points with all her scoring coming beyond the arc, sinking five three-pointers.  Lexi Shepard also scored in double figures with ten points in 26 minutes off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with a team-high four assists.

The two teams played an even first quarter, tied 9-9 before Berry outscored the Tornados 14-11 in the second period to take a 23-20 lead into halftime. 

At the start of the second half, Thompson promptly drained a three-pointer off an assist by Shepard to tie the game 23-23.  The Vikings regained the lead with a three-pointer of their own, before Thompson struck again from downtown to tie the game 26-26.  The Tornados went on to outscore Berry 17-9 for the remainder of the third quarter to take a 43-37 lead into the final stanza.

Another Thompson three-pointer stretched the lead to 46-37 to open the fourth which was followed by a flurry of free throws down the stretch to seal the win for the Tornados.  BC went 13-of-14 (93%) as a team from the stripe in the fourth quarter with Williams and senior Ty'She Washington each going 6-of-6 in free throws in the period.  In total, the Tornados outscored the Vikings 22-15 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 13-point victory.

As a team, Brevard went 16-of-18 (89%) from the free throw line for the contest, while shooting 44% from the field.  The Tornados made seven three-pointers with Williams and Shepard each hitting three's in addition to the five long-range buckets from Thompson. 

Brevard returns to action with the 2021-22 home opener vs. Bob Jones University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Boshamer Gymnasium.

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-BC-