Front Royal, VA– After a tough loss on Monday, the Regent University Women's Basketball team had a chance for redemption against Christendom College, as they once again faced each other for the second time in four days. The game would be much different than the first, with the Royals playing strong on both sides of the court.
Regent took the early lead in the first quarter, after a defensive steal, with Senior Kali Murrell (Long Beach, CA) finishing off the fast break by converting a layup. After the Crusaders answered, Junior Courtney Rowley (Lusk, WY) put the Royals back out in front with a basket in the paint. Kali Murrell continued to show her dominance from the three-point line and suddenly Regent had the lead, 11-5. Christendom would go on a small run, but Rowley and Junior Layla Turner (Portsmouth, VA) were able to find the basket to slow things down. Junior Jabarria Brown (Paterson, NJ), who was seeing her first action since December, hit a basket and the Royals entered the first break with the advantage, 23-16.
In the second quarter, the Crusaders came out hot, but five straight points from Kali Murrell kept Regent out in front. As the game tightened, Brown converted a long-range jumper and then followed that up with a steal and a layup, forcing Christendom to call a time out. They would continue to play solid defense and at halftime, they held onto the lead, 41-39.
The Crusaders came out in the third quarter and tied the game, but Kali Murrell answered with another three-pointer, while Brown made two in a row from the free throw line. Brown followed that up with a three-pointer of her own, to go along with a fast break layup, extending the lead to 51-43. As Christendom began to get back into the game, Rowley pulled up and hit a three-pointer to give the Royals an eight-point lead and that was enough to end the third quarter up 62-53.
The fourth quarter saw the Crusaders pull to within one-point and then they would eventually go out in front, 68-64. The next few minutes were back and forth, and Regent was able to stay close, only trailing by two points with three minutes remaining. However, it would not be enough as the Royals would fall by a final score of 82-76.
Kali Murrell led the team with 26 points, while Brown finished with 20 points. Regent will be back in action on Saturday, January 20th, as they travel to Roanoke, VA to face Hollins University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00pm.
