Buena Vista, VA - In a battle of the USA South's top teams, the Southern Virginia University women's basketball team held off a surging Brevard squad to retain their perfect record within the conference. Abigail Snyder's terrific shooting day and the Knights' consistency at the free throw line led them to a 71-62 victory.
Head Coach Lynette Schroeder's squad came to play in the opening minutes as the Knights jumped out to an early 15-2 lead. Their shooting sparked the early run and helped them end the first quarter with a mark of over 50% from the field. However, unwilling to let the deficit dishearten them, Brevard connected on several three-pointers to trim the deficit to 19-14 by the end of the first frame.
The rest of the first half saw neither team refusing to give an inch. The Tornados continued to claw into the Knights' lead on the strength of a stingy defense that caused several turnovers. After a last-second Brevard floater that found twine, the Knights' lead was trimmed to 31-29 at the break.
With her team struggling to find breathing room against the tornado's swarming defense, Abigail Snyder put the team on her back and dominated offensively, scoring 11 of the Knights' first 13 points. Despite her stellar play and another tremendous defensive effort from Aysia Foster, who chipped in with three blocks and two steals, the lead remained slim at 51-48.
After conceding the first bucket of the final frame, the Knights scored eight of the next ten points to place some pressure on the home team. With under a minute to play, the lead at five, and Brevard with the ball, Addison Newman made a clutch steal and layup to seemingly seal the win. On the ensuing possession, Aysia Foster deflected a pass, which led to another steal and score for Alyssa Weiland. In the end, Southern Virginia came away with a 71-62 win to preserve first place in the USA South and extend their winning streak to twelve.
Abigail Snyder finished with a career-high 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting. She also chipped in with seven steals and three steals. Ruth Kempler led all players with 10 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Looking ahead, the Knights will be able to rest from competition for a week before returning to the floor in front of their home crowd. They'll face North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday, January 25th, at 4:00 PM. For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_wbb on Instagram.
