BUENA VISTA, Va. - The Brevard College women's lacrosse team (8-9) fell 16-2 to USA South Conference Tournament four-seed Southern Virginia University (9-7) on Tuesday afternoon in Buena Vista, Virginia, concluding the 2024 campaign for the Tornados. 

The defeat marked BC's second consecutive appearance in the conference postseason, as the Tornados qualified for consecutive playoff berths for the first time in program history. 

Freshman goalkeeper Kyla Smith-Fondall made a career-high 18 saves, as the Baytown, Texas first-year Tornado anchored BC's defensive effort. Paige Kneubuhler caused a turnover and grabbed two ground balls, while Arianna Casertano and Alyse Moore also recorded CTs. 

Emily Denaga and Casertano found the back of the net for Brevard, while Denaga led all Tornados with three shot attempts. Audrey Hanson dished out an assist on Casertalo's goal. 

Piper Searle had a game-high six points for SVU (four goals and two assists), while Kiah Baisden scored four times with an assist for five points. Six different Knights found the back of the net, while five of them had multiple goals. Baisern also had a game-high seven ground balls and three caused turnovers. 

The Knights held BC without a shot in the first quarter, while the hosts took a total of 13 in the first period and scored five goals to start things off and establish an early lead. 

Brevard's very first shot of the game found the back of the net, as Denaga picked up a loose ball and fired into the left side of goal to cut the deficit to four, 5-1, four minutes into the second quarter. SVU was able to answer back around the nine-minute mark to push its lead back to five. 

BC's second shot attempt of the contest also found the back of the net, as Hanson found a cutting Casertano, who turned and fired into the goal, trimming the deficit back to four goals, 6-2, midway through the second period. SVU once again found an answer on its next possession, as the Knights held a 7-2 lead with 4:42 left to play in the first half. This score was the first of three-straight for SVU, who took a 9-2 advantage into the second half. 

The Knights were able to outscore the Tornados 7-0 in the second stanza to pull away for the 16-2 victory in the first round of the conference tournament. 

BC's 2024 campaign included several individual milestones as well as the program's best-ever start to a conference season as the Tornados began USA South play with a 5-1 record. 

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-BC-