The Lady Bulldogs won a close battle against Christian Brothers despite scoring 24 points less than their season average, and the Bulldogs turned in a disappointing performance against the Buccaneer men in Fred DeLay Gymnasium on Tuesday.
The Union women’s team turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions, and that would set the tone for what would be a sloppy performance all night on the offensive end. In addition to the team’s 11 turnovers, the Lady Bulldogs failed to find good shots all night. Union shot only 24% from the three-point line and did not hit a single three in the first half. They held the ball too long into the shot clock at times and, as a result, had to force up errant shots.
As EplusTV6’s Abigail Fillmore pointed out, the team was playing “catch up basketball” all night.
The team trailed almost the entire game before Tiffany Rechis hit a three to take a two point lead with just three minutes left. Union held onto the lead and won the game, 60-56. Jada Perkins continued her hot streak with 18 points and also brought down 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
The men’s first half looked almost identical to the women’s. Just like the Lady Bulldogs, the only major halftime stat the Bulldogs led was rebounds. They went into the locker room trailing by 13 compared to the women’s nine-point halftime deficit.
The second half, though, was drastically different than the women’s second half. Christian Brothers hit nine threes in the second half to increase their game total to 16. The Bucs also held Union to a dismal 36% shooting mark in the second half.
David Niven knelt on the ground in frustration with about 10 minutes left in the game.
“It was all my fault,” Niven told EplusTV6’s Steve Beverly after the game. “I coached an awful game and didn’t give my guys a chance to win.”
Oh, and did I mention the Bucs’ Brad Miller? Miller, the redshirt freshman, averaged just 4 points per game going into Tuesday, but he just introduced himself to the Gulf South Conference.
This kid went 8-9 from the field, including hitting his first seven three point attempts. Standing at just 6’1″, Miller still seemed to tower over everyone on the court for a night.
If you want to catch an upcoming game, the now 4-1 Lady Bulldogs will play Frisk University at 6:00 on Friday night, December 2nd, and the 4-2 mens’ team will play their next game on Thursday, December 8th, after a nine-day rest. Both games will be held at the Fred DeLay Gymnasium at Union.
