By Brackin Lambert
uscbathletics.com
BLUFFTON — USC Beaufort held a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but the Sand Sharks only scored three points in the period and the Tigers caught fire, finishing the game on a 12-0 run to hand the Sand Sharks their first home loss, 59-47 on Saturday afternoon.
“We played well for three quarters,” head coach Sharon Versyp said. “Just couldn’t get anything going in the fourth. Voorhees was so aggressive the last quarter and we struggled with the pressure, but we’ll continue to learn game-by-game with this group and get better as the season progresses.”
Freshman Janiyah Heyward led the way for Beaufort, posting 17 points, five boards, and two steals. Shaniya Rose had eight points and eight boards while junior college All-American Brielle Bartelt made her USCB debut and scored six points off the bench in 19 minutes.
Heyward had the hot hand in the third period, scoring on first consecutive times before Bartelt drilled one from downtown, extending USCB’s lead to 40-36. The Savannah native continued to shine, picking up two more scores to give the Sand Sharks a 44-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It was all Voorhees in the final period, though, as the Tigers outscored USCB 20-3.
The Sand Sharks were back in action Tuesday night, beginning the “River Rivalry” with Savannah State University in the Savannah Hoops Invitational at Enmarket Arena.
