CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Using a 26-13 advantage in the fourth quarter that included a 19-7 scoring run to finish the game while overcoming a 14-point second-half deficit, the Brevard College women's basketball team (2-0) mounted a ferocious comeback to defeat Johnson & Wales-Charlotte (1-2), 66-61 on Tuesday evening at the JWU Wildcat Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
Senior guard Josie Hester led four double-digit scorers with 21 points with 10 made free throws, three 3-pointers out of four total field goals, and six rebounds. Naliyah Boyce added 12 points, four rebounds, and two blocked shots, while Christena Rhone racked up 11 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Jada Petty-Wilkins, the reigning USA South Player of the Week, notched a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Lexi Shepard stuffed the stat sheet with nine points and five rebounds to go alongside team-highs of four assists and four steals.
 
The Wildcats were paced by a pair of double-digit scorers in Jordan Durant and Maliah Preston, who each tallied 13 points. Gabby Tapley added eight points and nine boards, with nine total Wildcats getting into the scoring column.
 
Brevard caught fire in the fourth, going 7-for-13 from the field with four made 3-pointers and a perfect 8-for-8 mark at the charity stripe. JWU fell despite a 49-35 rebounding edge, but Brevard got to the free throw line often, knocking in 21-of-27 compared to JWU's 5-for-10 mark. BC moved the ball well, recording 13 assists on 19 total field goals made.
 
JWU held a four-point lead, 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, and pushed its lead up to a 12-point margin at the halftime break, 34-22. The Wildcats took a game-high 14-point lead after a layup to start the second half, with the Tornados able to cut the deficit down to eight at the end of three, 48-40.
 
Brevard kicked off their decisive 19-7 run with a pair of free throws by Somer Johnson. Rhone nailed back-to-back 3-pointers as Brevard took the lead, 55-54, and Hester also drained a long-range bucket with 3:05 to play as BC held a 58-56 lead. Rhone and Hester both made a pair free throws down the stretch, but a JWU layup by Durant trimmed BC's edge to just a point, 62-61, with 59 seconds to go.
 
Boyce came through with a layup on a Shepard assist with 42 seconds left, pushing Brevard back up by three. JWU missed a jumper and a pair of 3-pointers on their final possession, while Hester iced the game at the free throw line, making a pair as Brevard wrapped up the five-point victory.
 
Brevard hosts Guilford on Saturday at 4 p.m. for its first home contest of the 2024-25 season at the Boshamer Gymnasium, part of a weekend doubleheader for Tornado basketball.
 
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