MARYVILLE, Tenn. - The Brevard College women's basketball team (13-8, 7-5 USAS) won a critical USA South Conference matchup 65-63 over host Maryville (8-13, 5-8 USAS) on Wednesday evening in Maryville, Tennessee. It marked the fourth consecutive win for the Tornados who sit in sole possession of fourth place in the current USA South West Division standings.
Brevard sophomore guard Calli Wells came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from behind the arc. It marked the second time in the last three games that the native of Fort Mill, South Carolina has set a new career-high after scoring 14 this past Saturday vs. Wesleyan.
Junior Melvia Seymore also came off the bench to score 13 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and sinking three 3-pointers. Seymore also dished out three assists and blocked a shot in an active 24 minutes of reserve action.
Senior center Avery Lockwood led BC on the glass with eight rebounds. Graduate Destiny Williams recorded nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocked shots. Sophomore Makenna Parkins registered eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Wells propelled BC to a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter by scoring eight points and hitting two 3-pointers in the opening stanza. BC stretched its lead to seven points at 25-18 on a layup by reserve Journey Taylor with just under six minutes to play in the second quarter. The Scots however tightened the score in the final minutes capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to head into halftime behind 31-29.
After several lead changes in the third quarter, the two conference rivals found themselves tied 45-45 at the end of the third quarter.
Maryville scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 50-45 lead after 90 seconds of play. A 3-pointer by Parkins ended the run, followed by two free throws by Wells to tie the game once again at 50-50.
The game remained narrowly contested in the following minutes with Maryville taking a 57-56 lead on a made layup with 2:15 to play. The Tornados then took control in the final minutes, reeling off an 8-0 scoring run in crunch time. Freshman Lexi Shepard hit a jump shot off an assist from Seymore to start the run followed by a steal by Williams who went coast-to-coast to finish a fast break herself.
With 58 seconds to play and protecting a 60-57 lead, Seymore blocked a shot to ensure a defensive stop by the Tornados. A layup by Parkins and two free throws by Shepard completed the scoring run to give BC a 64-57 lead with 35 seconds to play. Maryville would go on to score a last-second field goal, yet Brevard hung on to take the 65-63 road victory in conference play.
Brevard returns to action and will look to extend its winning streak on Saturday vs. Huntingdon on Senior Day at the Boshamer Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m with Senior Day ceremonies set for 1:45 p.m.
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-BC-