Bridgewater, VA – The Apprentice Women's Basketball team traveled to Bridgewater College in search of their first win of the season. This was the last game of the 2021 portion of the schedule for the Builders and they were looking to gain some momentum going into the holiday break. This would be the first time the two teams had met on the court since 2018.
The first quarter started out with a pre-game technical foul on the Builders, allowing Bridgewater to get 2 points prior to the tip-off. Once the game got started the Eagles jumped out to a 8-0 lead, until Brittney Jones scored 4 straight points to cut the lead in half, 8-4. However, Bridgewater would answer by scoring 7 straights points to increase the lead to 15-4. Once again, a basket by Jones stopped the run and settled things down before the media timeout. On the next possession, Ashawnti Williams forced a turnover which resulted in a layup by Jordan Wilson, and that was followed by another Builders' steal, this time by KeOndra Kelly, who got the ball to Williams for the second fast break layup in a row, trimming the lead to 5 points. Unfortunately, as the quarter came to a close, the Eagles would have a 10-point lead, 24-13.
Bridgewater scored first to start the second quarter, but Brittney Jones answered, hitting 1 of 2 free throws, after being fouled while shooting. Both teams continued to trade baskets until the Eagles went back up by 12 points, 29-17. Kerrigan Smalls would cut it back to 10 points after putting back an offensive rebound, however, Bridgewater was able to go on another run and with 2:17 remaining in the quarter, they had their largest lead of the game, 45-21. As both teams headed for the locker room, Apprentice would find themselves trailing by a score of 45-25.
Brittney Jones and Jordan Wilson started the Builders' scoring in the third quarter but were unable to cut the lead to under 20 points. Alena Puaauli-Pelham would have a solid quarter, draining four 3-pointers to try to make a run at the Eagles. Unfortunately, those were not enough as Bridgewater held the lead at the end of the quarter, 75-51.
Just like in the third quarter, Jones and Wilson got the scoring going to start the fourth. Puaauli-Pelham also picked up where she left off, hitting her fifth 3-pointer of the game at the 7:03 mark. Ashawnti Williams was also able to convert but in the end, Apprentice was unable to cut into the lead and as the horn sounded, they would fall to the Eagles by a final score of 102-66.
In the final game of the first half of the season, four Builders scored in double figures with Brittney Jones leading the way with 21 points and 6 assists. She was followed by Alena Puaauli-Pelham who finished with 15 points, including 5 3-pointers. Jordan Wilson added 13 points, while Ashawnti Williams had 10 points to go along with her game high 13 rebounds. Apprentice will now have a break for the holidays before they return to action January 9th when they visit Regent University for an EMAC matchup.
(Photo courtsey of the Daily News-Record)