Home / News and Information /

Lady Barons’ postseason hopes rest on final week of season

Lady Baron Monica Hunter is surrounded by Shorter College defense Feb. 15 – three to her one. (Photo by Ashley Byrd)

By Taylor Hereford

Director of Marketing

MOUNT VERNON – The Brewton-Parker College women’s basketball team dropped two conference games this past week but can still earn a berth in the upcoming Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament. 

The Lady Barons (17-10, 9-10 SSAC) hosted Shorter College last Thursday for Senior Night as head coach Sheila Simmons honored Christina Braswell, Shawnique Johnson and Monique Martin.  BPC, however, couldn’t overcome a night of poor shooting and fell to the Lady Hawks, 66-47.

Christina Braswell and Monique Martin (from left) were honored during Senior Night at center court of the Gillis gym Feb. 15. They are shown with their awards and are accompanied by their mothers. (Photo by Ashley Byrd)

“Shorter played a lot of zone against us,” said Simmons.  “We weren’t able to penetrate as much as we needed and didn’t get a lot of production from our post players.  As a result, we took too many outside shots.”

The Lady Barons were led by Braswell’s 17 points while Candice Clark had 12.  As a team, BPC shot 28 percent from the field, 22 percent from behind the arc, and 56 percent from the free-throw line.

The team traveled to Marietta this past Saturday to face the Southern Polytechnic Runnin’ Hornets.  After failing to capitalize on two chances to win – once in regulation and once in overtime – the Lady Barons saw the game slip away, losing to the Runnin’ Hornets, 65-61.

Kanyatta Gatling led a balanced scoring attack for BPC with 13 points.  Clark added 12 while six other Lady Barons contributed offensively.

With regards to the Lady Barons’ chances of playing in the SSAC Tournament, the team is seeded seventh in the conference as of Feb. 19.  BPC can earn a berth with an Emmanuel College loss against Auburn University-Montgomery (AUM) Feb. 22.  However, if Emmanuel beats AUM, the Lady Barons’ only hope is to win at Emmanuel Feb. 24 in the last game of the regular season.

The Women’s SSAC Tournament will be held Feb. 28 – Mar. 3 on Lee University’s campus in Cleveland, Tenn.

-BPC-