The Lady Bruins were victorious after a hard back and forth game against Warren Wilson College Tuesday. The final score was 76-72, improving their season record to 12-10.

Hannah Tomkins opened up the scoring with a three-pointer for the Bruins as the Owls and Bruins went back and forth. The Owls began to pull away, aided by a transition three- pointer that brought the score to 20-13. The first quarter ended with the Lady Bruins behind by only five, 17-22.

The Lady Bruins caught fire from behind the arc in the second quarter as Sha’Ron Brunson hit a three-pointer to tie it up 22-22. Brunson quickly followed up with another three assisted by Bhrianna Jackson, and Kendra Jeffcott found Maggi Ford for another three as the Bruins took a 30-27 lead. To cap it off, Julia Wright struck again from beyond the arc in transition to make it 37-32. The Owls, however, hit two shots to cut the Lady Bruins’ lead at halftime to 37-36.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Bruins and the Owls were back and forth. Bruins forward Bridgette Gleed was injured and was forced to leave the game. Ford was fouled during a layup, but still made the basket, making the score 44-42.

The Lady Bruins then went on a 10-4 run to make it 54-46, concluded by a three-pointer by Sydney Bedsaul. After three quarters, the score stood 54-50.

In the fourth quarter, Julia Wright hit a deep three to make it 62-55, but the Owls battled their way back to make it 67-70 with just two minutes left. Gleed, despite being diagnosed with an ankle sprain, returned to the game and made a clutch basket down the stretch. With 10 seconds left, Tomkins hit two free throws to seal the victory for the Bruins. The final score was 76-72.

“Taylor [the trainer] said my ankle was sprained and swollen, and asked if I wanted to go back in,” Gleed said. “I just told her ‘I’m not done.’”

The courageous effort from Gleed to tough out the pain and continue to play was extremely admirable and very important for the short-staffed Bruins. Brianna Delaney, another Bruins forward, was injured in practice and was unable to play at all on Tuesday.

The Lady Bruins will next play Allen University on Friday.