M'lani Vitela put the Eagles ahead to stay with under 8 minutes left, and #9 TCJ Eagles Women's Basketball fended off a last-minute Bruins comeback effort to edge out a hard-fought win 66-65 over Bob Jones University on Saturday. The win completes the season sweep by a combined 4 four points in two games as the the Eagles won each regular-season contest against this particular South Region opponent for the first time in series history. 

With 7:19 left to play, Vitela hit a mid-range jump shot that broke a 54-54 tie and put Trinity ahead by 2. Travesha Giddens, Kirsten Joseph, and Vitela then hit shots to extend the lead to 8 at 62-54 with 5:18 remaining. The Bruins, however, fought back with an 11-4 finish by getting points from 4 different players, including a three-pointer and a free throw from Anna Layne Wylder and a three from Jenna Brooks. Vitela and Laila Harvey, though, each made a layup to help keep Bob Jones from tying or taking the lead.

The final shot from Caitlyn Dickerson pulled BJU to within 1 point with 42 seconds left.

The teams traded unforced turnovers within the next 34 seconds, and Trinity inbounded with 8.3 showing on the clock. Bob Jones fouled to stop the clock at 2.7, but the ensuing inbound pass allowed the Eagles to evade further stoppage and run out the time to secure the win. 

The game consisted of 6 tie scores and 7 lead changes, most of those early on. Bob Jones broke a 9-9 tie late in the 1st quarter and held the lead by as much as 9 points and as little as 1 at various moments until Caroline Smith's layup put the Eagles ahead at 37-36 midway through the 3rd. Three ties and two lead changes later, BJU guard Savannah Taylor's layup tied the score at 54-all.

The difference was the third quarter, during which Trinity outscored Bob Jones 24-14 after trailing 34-29 at the half. The Bruins won the 4th quarter 17-13 but could not get that final shot off when they had one last chance with 17 seconds left to play.

Trinity made 4 more baskets (8 points) than Bob Jones, but BJU hit 8 more three-pointers (8 points) than Trinity. TCJ sank 15 free throws to BJU's 14.

Joseph and Giddens tied Wylder for the game high 15 points. Vitela scored 11, Smith totaled 9, Victoria Broadway tallied 8, and Harvey and Emma Parrish each contributed 4 crucial points. 

Keely Price and Taylor each score 12 while Dickerson and Brooks each had 9 to help lead the Bruins.

The Eagles have three home games between Februay 17 and 21. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College comes in on Tuesday (7:00 p.m.), followed by Florida State College at Jacksonville (7:00 p.m.) on Thursday and Trinity College of Florida on Saturday (2:00 p.m.). The regular season then concludes at Pensacola Christian College and Southeastern Baptist College on February 20 and 21, respectively.