Irving, Texas – The Centenary women's basketball team opened Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday with a 62-59 victory over the University of Dallas Crusaders at the Maher Center.
The Ladies (3-6, 1-0 SCAC) won their second game in a row and also won their conference opener for the first time since the 2018-19 season when they also defeated Dallas, 76-55 at home on Dec. 18, 2018. The Crusaders dropped to 2-6 and 0-1 in SCAC play. Wednesday's win also marks the first time the Ladies have won at least three games in a season since the 2018-19 season when they won eight.
Centenary, which defeated the Birmingham-Southern College Panthers on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. 89-82, have won three road games since Feb. 5, 2019 and two of them have come against Dallas.
Junior Destini Powell (Minden, La.) led the Ladies with 20 points in 27 minutes. She was 8-17 from the floor and connected on 2-5 three-point attempts. She grabbed eight rebounds and had one steal. Powell scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds in the win over Birmingham-Southern. The 33 points was the most scored by a Ladies player in a single game in the division III era (2012-present) and is tied for the third-most points in a single game in program history and is the most points scored by a Centenary player in 17 years.
Freshman G Mary Leday (Opelousas, La.) scored 12 points in 34 minutes, shooting 4-12 from the floor, 3-4 from the free throw line, and hit one three point basket. Leday grabbed five rebounds and recorded one assist and one steal. Junior F Jazzmyn Jones (Normangee, Texas) scored six points and added eight rebounds in 23 minutes. She hit 2-5 three-point attempts and was 2-3 from the free throw line. She had one assist, one blocked shot, and one steal. Freshman G Alana Jones (Shreveport) scored 12 points in 21 minutes off the bench. She made 4-10 shots overall and went 4-6 from the free throw line. She also had six rebounds and one steal. Jones' 12 points are a season high and marked the first time she has reached double figures this season. Jones has also recorded at least five rebounds in five-straight games.
Sophomore guard Addy Tremie (Sulphur, La.) scored five points on 1-6 shooting in 33 minutes. She made 3-4 free throw attempts and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Freshman G Dymon Drumgo (Alexandria, La.) added four points in 13 minutes off the bench. She hit 2-3 shots from the field and had one rebound and a steal. Senior G Jennae Mayberry (Clovis, Calif.) scored three in 27 minutes, making 1-4 field-goal attempts and went 1-2 from the free throw line. She had an assist and a rebound.
Junior F Amelia Bagwell (West Monroe, La.) grabbed a pair of rebounds in eight minutes, freshman F Katelyn Simon (Lafayette, La.) also played eight minutes and recorded three rebounds, and junior G Blair Abshire (New Iberia, La.) picked up a rebound and a steal in six minutes.
The Ladies shot 36.7 % (22-60) from the field but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 3-15 three-point attempts and were just 15-26 from the free throw line. Dallas also struggled offensively, as the Crusaders shot just 30 % (21-70) and made only 6-30 three-point attempts for 20 percent while finishing 11-17 from the free throw line. The Ladies outrebounded the Crusaders, 47-39.
Centenary recorded seven steals, three assists, and a blocked while Dallas finished with 11 assists, 10 steals, and blocked three shots. Canai McPherson led all scorers with 27 points in 35 minutes. Adryan Alvarez scored 12 and Imani Hardin grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.
The Ladies finished with a 32-34 advantage in points in the paint and had an 11-7 edge in second-chance points. Dallas had 18 fast break points to the Ladies' 11 and the Crusaders scored 22 points off of Centenary's 21 turnovers while the Ladies recorded nine off of Dallas' 12 giveaways. Both teams benefited from their bench as the Crusaders received 22 bench points and the Ladies getting 16.
The Ladies led 13-9 after the first quarter and then Dallas outscored Centenary 18-14 in the second 10 minutes as the game was tied at 27-27 at halftime. Dallas finished with a 21-19 advantage in the third quarter to take a 48-46 lead into the final period. The Ladies then outscored the Crusaders, 16-11, to win by three.
A layup by McPherson gave the Crusaders a 54-52 lead with 2:21 remaining but 14 second later Powell tied the game with a basket. Another layup by McPherson with just over a minute remaining gave Dallas a 56-54 lead but again Powell responded, this time with a clutch trey with just 51 second left for a 57-56 Ladies' lead. Several key free throws helped seal the win as Centenary's defense held Dallas scoreless over the final minute.
The Ladies will take a break for final exams and then will welcome the Crusaders to the Gold Dome for a rematch on Friday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
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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