The Lady Bisons winning streak ended at three as they fell to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 71-49 Thursday evening in Allen Arena.
While it was a slow start for both teams, the Eagles held the Lady Bisons to 19 points in the first half. Neither team was able to score in the first five minutes of play.
Lipscomb struggled to find holes in the Florida Gulf Coast defense. The Lady Bisons also struggled to free up Ashley Southern for layups down low.
Even with Southern’s struggles, she still managed to lead Lipscomb with 12 points.
Head Coach Greg Brown talked about the importance of having three players score in double figures.
Brown said that freshman guard Emily Eubank played a dominant role in the game, scoring 11 points.
“Emily had great poise and composure,” Brown said. “It was good for her, as a freshman, to handle one of the best teams in the league.”
Junior shooting guard Alex Banks also scored in double figures, with 10 points.
Banks was productive from the field as well as at the free throw line. She shot four for five from the field and was perfect from the foul line.
The Eagles came into the game with only two losses and were considered to be the thirtieth best team in the country.
Gulf Coast’s leading scorer was Whitney Knight, who scored 18 points. The Eagles also had a strong defensive during the second half, in which they only allowed 30 points.
The Lady Bisons would have liked a better outcome, but Brown said the team can build off of what they learned.
“We were close on rebounds,” Brown said. “We also got to the line close to 20 times. We have got to get better against highly ranked teams.
“It is something we can build on as we get ready for the game Saturday.”
The Lady Bisons will take on Stetson at 4 p.m. Saturday in Allen Arena.
Photo by Erin Turner