Shreveport – The Centenary women's basketball team opened its regular season with a thrilling 69-64 come-from-behind victory over the LeTourneau University YellowJackets in a non-conference contest on Friday night at a spirited Gold Dome.
The Ladies (1-0) won their season opener for the first time since the 2016-17 season when they opened with a 70-64 victory at ETBU. LeTourneau fell to 0-1 with Friday's loss.
The Ladies, fueled by a great crowd and the Centenary spirit team and mascot, got off to a fast start as they led 5-0 a minute into the game and 11-3 midway through the first quarter. YellowJackets, though, found their footing and went on a 13-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 16-11 lead at the 1:07 mark. LeTourneau continued to build its lead in the second quarter, taking a 28-18 lead with 5:26 remaining before halftime.
The Maroon and White went on an 8-0 run to cut the LeTourneau lead to 28-26 with 2:50 remaining in the quarter then both defenses held strong over the final two minutes as the visiting YellowJackets took a 30-27 lead into halftime.
The teams opened the second half by trading baskets for the first several minutes as the YellowJackets led 34-33 at the 7:12 mark and then LeTourneau went on a 14-1 run over the next five minutes to take a game-high 14-point lead (48-34) with 2:47 left in the period. A jumper by senior guard Jennae Mayberry (Clovis, Calif.) at the 2:30 mark stopped the run but the YellowJackets still led 49-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
A three-pointer by Malacia Guy gave LeTourneau a 53-42 advantage with 8:43 remaining in the game but the Ladies started to chip away at their deficit over the next few minutes and a three by junior guard Destini Powell (Minden, La.) made it a 56-53 game with 5:43 remaining, causing the YellowJackets to take a timeout, to the delight of the home crowd.
Another trey by Powell tied the game at 58-58 with 4:36 remaining and it seemed the Ladies were poised to potentially soon take the lead and never look back but the YellowJackets responded immediately with a bucket by forward Allaira Jones for a 60-58 lead just 23 seconds later. Mayberry tied the game with a jumper and then a layup by Ajanae Thomas gave the YellowJackets a 62-60 lead at the 2:47 mark. Junior forward Amelia Bagwell (West Monroe, La.) hit a shot to tie the game at 62-62 with 2:03 remaining and then a pair of clutch free throws by Mayberry with 1:30 left gave the Ladies a 64-62 lead.
Freshman G Alana Jones (Shreveport) sank two free throws with just 41 seconds left for a 66-62 lead and then the Ladies forced a turnover and Mayberry made two more from the line for a 68-62 lead. Mayberry added one more free throw and LeTourneau could only muster one more basket as the Ladies finished off the comeback win. Centenary outscored the YellowJackets 9-2 over the final 2:47 and forced three key turnovers to seal the game.
Centenary made 7 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter including 7 of 8 in the final minute and a half and made six in a row at one point. The Ladies made 10 of 16 from the line in the second half after making just 5 of 10 attempts in the first half. The YellowJackets went 23-34 for the game from the line and turned the ball over 21 times.
The Ladies shot 37.3 % from the floor for the night while LeTourneau shot 30.6 %. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc as the Ladies made just 4 of 17 attempts (23.5 %) while the YellowJackets only hit 3 of 19 (15.8 %). Centenary made all four of its attempts in the second half including three by Powell, incredibly in a span of just 1:08 midway through the final period.
Four of the Ladies' five starters scored in double figures, led by 17 from junior F Jazzmyn Jones (Normangee, Texas). Powell added 13, Mayberry scored 12, and freshman G Mary Leday (Opelousas, La.) scored 10 in her collegiate debut. Sophomore guard Addy Tremie (Sulphur, La.) was held to just three points on 1-7 shooting but she recorded two rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal along with stellar defense in 33 minutes. Tremie is coming off of a phenomenal rookie season in which she was named the 2020-21 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Co-Newcomer of the Year also earned Honorable Mention All-SCAC recognition.
Bagwell chipped in six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench and Jones added five points, five steals, and four boards in 18 minutes in her debut. Mayberry grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds and added four assists and a steal and made 6-8 free-throw attempts. Powell had eight boards and a steal and Leday had two rebounds, two steals, and one assist. Freshman G Dymon Drumgo (Alexandria, La.) played seven minutes and scored three points with three rebounds. The Ladies finished with 46 rebounds, 11 steals, and eight assists.
Centenary finished with a decisive 42-24 advantage in points in the paint and scored 22 points off of LeTourneau's 21 turnovers. The Ladies scored 14 fast break points and recorded 12 second-chance points along with 14 bench points.
Keauna Whitfield scored a game-high 18 points as she played all 40 minutes. She made 6 of 21 shots from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, had three steals, and recorded a pair of assists. Malacia Guy and Allaira Jones joined Whitfield in double figures as Guy scored 11 with six rebounds in 37 minutes and Jones added 12 with a game-high 16 rebounds in her 37 minutes.
The Ladies will now face Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. in an exhibition contest and then are back at home for a pair of regular-season games versus Louisiana College and Hendrix next weekend.
A link to the Ladies' complete 2021-22 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2021-22/schedule
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