Basketball Falls in AAC Tournament; Ends Record Breaking Season

The Brenau basketball team's season ended with a close 70-64 loss to Tennessee Wesleyan University on Thursday in the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament in Kingsport.

The Golden Tigers started the game with a blistering 9-1 run, but the Bulldogs closed the quarter with five straight points to cut the deficit to 12-6 at the end of the period.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs opened with an eight point flurry to take a 14-12 lead. The lead changed ten times in the period until Lia Thomas found Dodson for a three pointer with 13 seconds left to give Brenau a 31-29 halftime lead.

Tennessee Wesleyan opened the third quarter on huge 9-0 run for a 38-31 lead- their largest of the game. However, the Brenau defense clamped down again as Kaylyn Brooks had a steal and a layup to cut the score to 38-33. Jasmine Knight then added a three pointer to cut the lead to 38-36, then a three-point play from Dodson gave the Golden Tigers a 39-38 lead. Brenau held the lead for the remainder of the third quarter to take a 47-44 lead into the final stanza.

In the fourth quarter, the lead changed six different times as neither squad could take control of the game. With 24 seconds remaining, Tennessee Wesleyan's Hunter Simpson made one of two free throws to give her team a 67-64 lead. On the ensuing possession, Dodson missed an open three pointer that would have tied the game, but instead allowed the Bulldogs to slip away with the win.

Dodson led all scorers with 28 points on 10-15 shooting (5-8 from three-point range), while Brooks added 13 points and four rebounds. Knight added eight points and eight rebounds.

Simpson, the 2018 AAC Player of the Year, finished with 26 points.

Brenau (20-10 overall, 14-8 AAC) closes out a record-breaking season which was highlighted by a program-best 20 wins. Other records broken this season include Autumn Dodson becoming the all-time scorer in Brenau basketball history with 1,462 points, Jasmine Knight's single-season assist record of 139 and a team record for points allowed per game (60.9), which clinched the previous record (62.5) which was set in 2015-16.