Women's Basketball completes season in Chestertown

CHESTERTOWN, Md. - Bryn Athyn Lions made the trip down to Maryland for a back-to-back against Washington College to close out their 2021 season. 

Game One: 
The first game saw the Lions lose 90-44. The Lions started slow allowing the Shoremen to jump out to a 15-2 lead over the first five minutes. The Lions settled in and answered with their own 9-5 run to close the quarter. The second quarter had a similar tune as the first. Washington College scored 18 of the last 22 points to take a 39-17 lead into half. Lions failed to get into rhythym, but did show more offensive spark in the second half scoring 23 points in the final two frames. Clayshonia Cogmon led the way for the Lions with a typical "Clay" performance with ten points, eight boards, five steals, and three assists. Terrae Lewis added nine points and two steals off the bench. 

Game Two:
In game two, the Lions lost 72-53. Bryn Athyn came out and executed their game plan for the first 27 minutes of the game. The first frame opened up with Washington jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead. The Lions responded with their own 13-5 run to take a 13-12 lead. Washington College called a timeout to stop the momentum of the Lions. They answered with 5 quick points, but the teams continued to exchange baskets for the rest of the half. Clayshonia Cogmon was all over the court getting steals, rebounds, and points in that first half. The Lions went into the break down eight, 32-24. Coming out of the break, the Lions came out strong for the first five minutes of the third quarter. They cut the deficit to four points, 48-44 on drives by Kaylia Duncan and Aida Barry. Bryn Athyn would not get any closer as the offense went dry and the Lady Lions failed to convert their shots. Washington College pulled away for an eventual 19 point win in Bryn Athyn's season finale. 

What the coach said:
On the weekend- "It was a tale of two games this weekend. We came out flat Friday to start the game, dug ourselves into a big hole, battled back a bit, and then again in the 3rd quarter, just didn't get it done," said Coach Travis Ponton. "Washington college is a good team, well coached, and they are bigger across the board than us. Add in their 3pt shooting and rebounding advantage, and that was that. We came out so much better on Saturday and played almost even for 3 quarters. Foul trouble and a scoring drought in the 4th quarter got them the separation. We knew we had to keep the game in the 50's and 60's and they just made a few too many shots." 

On the season - "It's great for us to be able to come out and compete against a Centennial Conference opponent and do some nice things. Really this whole COVID schedule was full of challenging non-conference opponents, playing back-to-back days, mostly on the road," Ponton continued. "We did it short handed, we did it with open hearts and open minds, we did it with our eyes on the big picture, and we did it together. Playing these games will bode well for us as things hopefully get back to normal at the D3 level and in the CSAC. We got better and we learned a lot about ourselves. I'm grateful for the effort of our kids, the diligence of our medical team, and for the commitment from our administration. It was truly a team effort, and credit goes in all directions. We are excited to have our full team back playing a full schedule next season!"

On seniors, Clayshonia Cogmon and Jayda Campbell - "Our seniors, just two special individuals in Clay and Jayda. Clay Cogmon is a historic student athlete in Bryn Athyn history. The national statistic leaderboards, the defensive player of the year banner in the field house, and the All-CSAC awards only tell part of the story. Clay is an impactful young woman on our campus, who has a spirit and motor about her on and off the court that is special. Jayda Campbell came here last year from a junior college, and has been the consummate D3 athlete, balancing school, basketball, and work on a daily basis. Jayda is off the nursing school for her last year, and then she is going to be a great health care professional, joining the ranks of the heroes who continue to battle this pandemic. Both of these young women have unique and fun personalities, and while they are moving in to a new chapter, they will always be a part of our family. We are grateful to have had them!"

Final Thoughts: Bryn Athyn Lions won back-to-back non-conference games for the first time since 2017-2018. Coach Ponton was recognized as the Division III National Coach of the Week after the back-to-back wins. The Lions wrapped up their season eight game schedule, and look forward to a return to play next fall for the 2021-2022 season.