Win & Advance!!! Eagles Knock Off #9 Bryan in AAC Semifinals!

David Finney | photo by Holly Heath

Kingsport, TN - Looking back on the regular season has not really proven to be a determining factor when it comes to the Eagles Basketball Team in the AAC Tournament. In the first round, they held form and knocked off Brenau after doing the same thing twice in the previous week.  Next up was Tennessee Wesleyan who beat the Eagles twice in the regular season, however, at a narrow one and two point margin. Fast-forward to the semifinals and you have the number one team in the conference who has not lost a game the entire season standing in the way of the Eagles making it to the finals. Bryan College has been beating teams up in the conference all season and they had their way with the Eagles in both regular season games. BUT - Tournament Season is a different season and you must come ready to play at all times.

The Eagles have been in "Win and Advance Mode" since they finished up their regular season games.  Sometimes when your back is against the wall, you stand up and fight your way out and that is exactly what the Eagles have done so far in this tournament. They realized from the start that the only way into the National Tournament was to win their way in, and so far, they have taken care of business.

The Eagles stood toe-to-toe with Bryan at the start of this game and showed that they were not backing down. The game was either tied or one point leads by either team the first five minutes of the first quarter, but then things started to change. Catherine Shope's layup at the four minute mark gave the Eagles a four point lead which was the largest of either team for the game.  The lead just expanded from there and the Eagles would end the quarter on two Aby Haynes free throws giving the Eagles a 20-14 lead after the first.

Abi Haynes showed in the game against Brenau that she came put up some outstanding numbers as she had forty points.  She dipped slightly in the Tennessee Wesleyan game - but still great at 22 points. In the game against Bryan, she dropped in 31 points scoring 10 points from the free throw line (10 of 14 from the stripe).  She is averaging 31 points per game in the tournament so far and no doubt it is one of the top performers in both the men and women's sides of the tournament.

Ashley Woodroffe is having an outstanding tournament as well scoring 18 against Brenau, 13 against Tennessee Weslyan, and 17 against Bryan.  She is hitting a hot 16 points per game average. Woodroffe, Haynes, and all the Eagles seem to be clicking at the right time and each is contributing to the success in their own ways. It is really a great thing knowing the hurdles the team had to face midway through the season.

In the second quarter, the lead would surprisingly jump to eleven points midway through the quarter. Bryan would fight their way back to get with in four points at one moment, however, the Eagles would stop their advance and push the lead back again. The Eagles would have a ten point lead at the halftime break.

The third and fourth quarters would be the Eagles knocking back the blows that a #1 team can dish out. Bryan really has not been in this situation before and especially not at this late in the game so would they know how to fight back and the question of - Can the Eagles hold a lead for the remainder of the game, would have to be answered? Abi Haynes, Ashley Woodroffe, Catherine Shope, and the rest of the Eagles are refusing to lose. They would close out this game keeping their advantage all the way through the second half.  The leads would dip to as low as three points, but the Eagles would answer right back and push the lead to seven or more in the final minutes.  The "Refuse to Lose" attitude was too much for Bryan and they would watch the Eagles finish out the game with a thirteen point lead, 77-64.

Most likely, Bryan will make the National Tournament because of their regular season success, but the Eagles were the hungrier team for this game and they have goals to accomplish - Bryan just happened to be the team in way of reaching a goal.  The Eagles will take on Milligan at 3 pm in Kingsport, TN on Saturday afternoon in the Championship Game.  

It is an exciting time for the Eagles and we are all looking forward to Saturday's Championship Game!  The game can be watched on the AAC Digital Network.