Box Score Spartanburg, SC – It was a special day on the Campus of Converse College and it was a day all Valkyries had been waiting for. Game Day had finally come after months of uncertainly and the Converse Women's Basketball team was looking to take full advantage of it. Not only was it the 2020-2021 season opener, but the Valkyries got to play in the friendly confines of Hannah Gymnasium. Coker University was first up on the schedule and Coach Brunelli and his team knew they would be in for a hard-fought game.
In the First Quarter, Coker quickly jumped out to an early 9-0 lead behind the shooting of Emily Davis. Converse would eventually slow down the Cobras momentum with two 3-pointers by Junior Guard,
Ellen Nardella. Another two field goals by Senior Guard,
Ashley Sides and Freshman Guard,
Jordan Brown, gave the Valkyries the ability to keep the Coker lead to single digits, 17-11, at the end of the First Quarter.
As the Second Quarter got underway,
Ellen Nardella, picked up right where she left off in the first 10 minutes. She would connect on two more 3-pointers, while also playing tight defense. That defense allowed her team to cut into Coker's lead and allowed
Jordan Brown,
Keyshuna Fair and
Sierra Davenport to each convert on the offensive end of the court. Converse showed a lot of toughness in the quarter and they eventually tied the game at 28-28, which would be the score heading into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime, the Valkyries and Cobras' defenses went toe to toe, only allowing each team four points from the field. The Third Quarter would turn into a free throw shooting contest. Sophomore Guard,
Lindsey Hardin and
Jordan Brown provided the spark for Converse from the line, which would give converse its first lead of the game. Coker converted a number of their free throws as well, but as the horn sounded to end the quarter, the Valkyries found themselves with a 42-38 advantage.
In order to keep their lead in the Fourth Quarter, Converse began to get the ball inside, while also relying on the outside shooting of
Lindsey Hardin. In addition, Hardin was 6-6 from the free throw line, which made it difficult Coker to get back their early advantage. Just when the Cobras pulled to within 4 points, Hardin connected on a game clinching 3-pointer. As the clock hit zero, Converse would secure its first victory of the season, defeating Coker by a final score of 58-53.
With the win, the Valkyries move to 1-0 on the season. Converse was led by
Lindsey Hardin with 17 points and was also a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. She was followed by
Ellen Nardella, who finished with 14 points and
Jordan Brown with 12 points. While the Valkyries are excited about the win, they don't have too much time to celebrate. Tomorrow night they will travel down I-85 to face Division I Furman University. While Coach Brunelli knows this will be a tough test for his team, he also knows what a big win tonight was and the confidence it will give his team when they travel to Timmons Arena.
