Union Slips Past Basketball 59-51

Gainesville, Georgia- A cold-shooting fourth quarter for the Brenau basketball team allowed Union College to escape with a 59-51 win in Appalachian Athletic Conference play on Tuesday.

In the first quarter, the Brenau basketball team stormed out to an 18-13 lead as Dyiesha Brown scored eight points to lead the charge. However, a sluggish second quarter allowed Union to come back and take a 25-23 lead at intermission.

After halftime, both teams battled throughout the period with Union extending their lead to five points on a Cheyenne Stidham layup with 3:22 in the quarter. The Golden Tigers answered as Lia Thomas scored on a fast-break layup and Kierra Knight added a free throw to cut the deficit to 41-38. Two free throws each by Celine Vega and Lia Thomas allowed Brenau to take a 42-41 lead into the final stanza.

In the fourth quarter, the Golden Tigers struggled offensively, allowing Union to take a 53-49 lead with 2:40 to go in the game. Tamia Francis scored on a fast break layup to cut the Bulldog lead to 53-51, but the offense was unable to score again, allowing the visitors to escape with the win.

Lia Thomas led Brenau with an all-around game of 14 points, seven steals and six rebounds. Dyiesha Brown added a career-high 12 points and five rebounds and Tamia Francis posted 10 points and eight rebounds.

Brooke Hammonds led Union with 17 points.

Brenau (5-6 overall, 3-5 AAC) next hosts #19 Bryan College (10-1 overall, 8-0 AAC) on Friday at 4 pm in Gainesville.