By Carter Sanderson and Cory Woodroof
The Belmont Bruins made the short drive to Allen Arena Thursday night for the Lady Bisons’ edition of “Battle of the Boulevard,” making this the third game in five days for the Lady Bisons.
However, Lipscomb (0-3) was joined by a new face. As of Thursday morning, the NCAA ruled Florida transfer Chandler Cooper eligible.
Cooper made her debut in Thursday night’s match-up against Belmont, giving the Lady Bisons a solid lift. Cooper had 10 points and three rebounds in her first game with Lipscomb.
The new Lady Bison did give the team a spark, but Lipscomb was only able to come up with 20 first-half points, trailing the Bruins 32-20 at the half.
The Lady Bisons came out to start the second half, hitting back-to-back threes by guards Cooper and forward Ashley Southern, cutting the lead back to single digits. However, that wasn’t enough to overcome the strong showing by the Bruins backcourt in Jordyn Luffman and Blair Bryce,who were both in double-figures for the Bruins. Belmont won the contest 68-52.
Ashley Southern led the Lady Bisons with 11 points and 16 rebounds, gaining another double-double on the year. Freshman Faith LeGate also had 10 points for the evening.
Cooper says that while it’s been a while since she’s been on the court, she doesn’t expect it to be a long transition.
“I haven’t played a game in over a year and a half,” Cooper said. “I’m a little out of shape, but that’s nothing that reps and practice can’t take care of.”
The Lady Bisons will have a week to practice and prepare before they travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Wildcats on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m.
Cooper says that fine-tuning the defense and adjusting to the short term loss of standout sophomore Alex Banks in the rotation will help the Lady Bisons be successful in their trip to Rupp Arena.
Additional reporting by Chad Johnson
Photo credit: Whitney Jarreld