BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College women's basketball team (12-5, 7-4 USAS) came up just short in a 57-54 loss to Southern Virginia University (14-4, 12-0 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at the Boshamer Gymnasium.  With the win, SVU remained undefeated and in first place in the USA South Conference standings.
 
Junior center Naliyah Boyce led the Tornados with a career-high 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.  The career-high for Boyce topped her previous high of 18 set last season vs. Meredith.
 
Junior guard Josie Hester scored 17 points with five made 3-pointers.  It marked the ninth time this season that Hester has scored in double figures and the second time this year with five or more 3-pointers made.
 
Sophomore Olivia Miller scored ten points and Makayla Street added eight points to round out the scoring for Brevard.  Miller also posted five assists and five rebounds, while Street blocked two shots on the defensive end. Junior point guard Lexi Shepard led all players with six assists and four steals.
 
Southern Virginia was led by Alyssa Weiland with 16 points on three 3-pointers.  Abigail Snyder recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Presley Heggie also scored in double figures with 11 points.
 
The back-and-forth affair featured eight lead changes and came down to the final minute of action. The two teams traded the lead after the opening tipoff before Brevard went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter that began with a 3-pointer by Hester.  The run gave BC a 17-5 lead with two minutes remaining in the opening period.  The Knights cut their deficit to 21-11 heading into the second period.
 
Southern Virginia turned the tables in the second period, going on a 12-0 run to take a 28-25 lead with 1:44 remaining in the first half.  Hester then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to retake the lead for the Tornados 31-28 heading to intermission.
 
The third quarter proved to be a tight affair with SVU outscoring BC 15-11 to take a 43-42 lead into the definitive fourth period.
 
Midway through the fourth quarter, an 8-1 scoring run by the Knights gave the visitors a 53-47 lead with just under four minutes to play.  Boyce caught fire with back-to-back buckets which SVU answered with a layup by Presley to take a 55-51 advantage.  With 34 seconds to play, Hester hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Miller to cut the deficit to one point.  Two made free throws by SVU's Maria Savvun stretched the Knights' lead to three points.  BC was unable to convert in the final seconds as Southern Virginia escaped with a 57-54 victory.
 
The defensive battle saw Brevard record 14 steals, as the Knights committed 19 turnovers.  BC also blocked four shots and held SVU to 34% shooting from the field and 6-of-20 from beyond the arc.  Southern Virginia held Brevard to 35% from the field and 25% shooting from three-point range.
 
Brevard will return to action on Tuesday evening with a USA South Conference contest vs. Pfeiffer.  Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
 
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