MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In a tightly contested game to open the SSAC Championship Wednesday, No. 9 seed Blue Mountain Christian saw its season come to an end against No. 8 seed Stillman 63-56.
In a competitive first quarter, the Toppers started the game with a three from Charnita Brooks, followed by driving buckets from Crystin Guy.
The Stillman offense attacked Blue Mountain's inside the paint and would force a pair of fouls on Rebecca Walter, sending her to the bench early.
A three from Alexis Wynn late in the quarter would give Blue Mountain an 18-15 lead.
With Stillman taking a 26-25 lead midway through the second, Brooks would bury another three to give her team a 28-26 lead.
Brooks would later break a 7-0 Stillman run with another three from the corner to make it 33-31 Stillman.
Blue Mountain would tie it at 33-33 when Izzy Carlson drove the baseline and left it for Walter for an easy basket at the break.  Brooks led all scorers with 19 points at the half.
The Tigers would go on a quick 5-0 run early in the third to take a 41-35 lead, forcing the Toppers to take a timeout.
Turnovers began to plague the Lady Toppers midway, as Stillman's Kashara Preston drained a three to give her team a 46-37 lead.
Blue Mountain would go cold shooting with 3:30 left in the third, and the Tigers raced out to a 51-41 lead.
The scoring drought finally ended for Blue Mountain in the fourth at the 7:38 mark when Guy scored a layup off the drive.  Carlson would follow it up on the next possession with a step-back three to make it 53-46 Stillman.
Late in the quarter, Guy would get Blue Mountain to within three as she made a turnaround jumper and got the foul, completing the three-point play.
Brooks would get another look from three with 30 seconds left, but was rejected, eventually forcing the Lady Toppers to foul and sending Stillman to the second round.
"I'm very proud of our ladies and the effort they showed today," BMCU head coach Tracy Rice said.  "We just couldn't get much to fall in the third, and that gave Stillman the momentum.  We got some big buckets late, but we just came up short."
Brooks would lead all scorers with 26 points including six three-pointers, followed by Guy with 13.  Alexandra Haymon led Stillman with 14 points.
BMCU closes its season 8-19 overall and 5-13 in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
 
 
 
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