LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Briana Bull notched her second 26-point performance of the season tonight in Goucher's 82-68 loss to Bridgewater in the Las Vegas Hoopla.
It was a rough start for Patrick Daniel's squad as the Gophers only attempted three shots and recorded three turnovers in the first three minutes of the contest. At that point, Goucher was staring at a 10-2 deficit.
Jaida Scarborough hit a jumper at the 6:14 mark which created a small spark in favor of the visiting team. Amaka Ezeani capped off a 6-1 run for Goucher with a tip-in to cut Bridgewater's lead to three.
After Briana Moore knocked down a jumper at the midway point, Scarborough hit two free-throws to stay within three points. Though, a 3-pointer by Cassidy Burkholder extended the Eagles' lead back to six, in which it stayed until Ezeani tallied her second bucket on the night with 1:48 remaining in the first.
Jessi Strom and Sydni Carey each made a 3-point shot in the final 65 seconds for Bridgewater to take the 26-16 lead into the second.
The second quarter was much slower than the first — only accounting for 23 of the 150 total points scored in the game. For Goucher, Bull scored eight of the team's 10 total points.
The Gophers (4-5) trailed by 13 at the half.
From there, Goucher had no answer for Jessica Lam and Burkholder who, combined, tallied 29 points in the final two quarters of play.
Burkholder led the Eagles (4-4) with 23 points while teammate, Lam, finished with 21. Kelly Oshene and Jessi Strom added 11 points apiece.
India Perkins attempted to orchestrate a late surge for the blue and gold as the senior guard tallied all of her 11 points in the second half.
"Effort and intensity is something we need to do for all four quarters, not just when we dig ourselves in a deep hole," Daniel commented after the game. "I love our fight at the end but we need that effort and intensity the entire game."
"Tomorrow is a new day."
A quick turnaround for Goucher as it has a noon tip-off (3 p.m. EST) tomorrow against Emory & Henry in the squad's final Las Vegas Hoopla contest.