Shreveport – The Centenary women's basketball team won for the first time this season with an impressive 68-62 victory over the Austin College 'Roos in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Gold Dome.
The Ladies improved to 1-14 and 1-5 in conference play while Austin College, who was also seeking its first win of the season, remained winless and dropped to 0-13 and 0-5 in SCAC play. Centenary recorded its first win since a 61-53 Senior Day victory last season over St. Thomas.
The game was tied at 28-28 at halftime and then Austin College took a 49-48 lead into the final 10 minutes but a 20-13 advantage in the fourth quarter sealed the win for the Ladies. Austin College finished with a 13-11 advantage in the first quarter and the Ladies outscored the 'Roos 17-15 in the second period. Centenary shot 35.6 % (26-73) for the game from the floor while Austin College shot 41.7 % (20-48).
The Ladies finished 7-20 from beyond the arc for 35 % and 9-14 from the free throw line for 64.3 %. The 'Roos were 7-16 from 3-point range for 43.8 % and 15-18 from the FT line for 83.3 %. Centenary edged Austin College 40-39 in rebounding and forced 21 turnovers while only turning the ball over seven times. The Ladies finished with 12 assists, 10 steals, and four blocked shots. The 'Roos recorded 11 assists, three steals, and blocked four shots.
Centenary only shot 28.6 % (12-42) in the first half but forced 13 turnovers and held the 'Roos to just two 3-point baskets in 11 attempts. Austin College shot 38.5 % overall (10-26) from the floor and finished 6-8 from the free throw line for 75 %. The Ladies were also only 2-11 from beyond the arc and made both of their attempts from the free throw line.
Both teams shot it well from the floor after halftime, as the Ladies finished 45.2 % (14-31) and the 'Roos were nearly identical at 45.5 % (10-22). The Ladies made 5-9 attempts from 3-point range for 55.6 % while the 'Roos connected on all five of their attempts. Austin College was also strong from the FT line, going 9-10 while Centenary was 7-12. The Ladies' bench was integral in the win, finishing with a 24-4 advantage in bench points and scored 25 points off of the 21 Austin College miscues while the 'Roos only scored six points off of turnovers. Centenary finished with a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint and 15-5 in second-chance points.
Four Ladies reached double figures led by 16 from freshman G Amiyah Barrow (Baton Rouge, La.) as she reached double digits for the sixth time this season and did so for the fifth time in the last eight games. She nearly matched her season high of 19 that she scored against Millsaps last month. Barrow played 30 minutes off the bench and finished 6-14 from the floor, 2-2 from 3-point range and 2-2 from the FT line. She added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Freshman F Kyra Stokes (Shreveport, La.) reached double figures for the second time this season as she added 13 and grabbed eight rebounds in her 26 minutes. She was 4-11 from the floor and 5-8 from the free throw line with an assist and a steal. Sophomore G Alana Jones (Shreveport, La.) just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds in 28 minutes of action. Jones, who led the Ladies with 17 points against Dallas on Friday, was 3-9 from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range, and 2-2 from the free throw line. She also had a team-high five assists, two steals, and blocked a shot.
Freshman G TaNyjah Plumber (Kinder, La.) scored 12 points in 32 minutes on 5-14 shooting with six rebounds, three assists, and a steal as she reached double figures for the second time this season. Freshman G Brailey Major (Opelousas, La.) scored 10 in 28 minutes with three rebounds and two steals on 4-12 shooting overall and made a pair of treys as she reached double figures for the third time this season. Sophomore G Dymon Drumgo (Alexandria, La.) scored six points on 3-6 shooting in 17 minutes with two rebounds and a steal.
Four Austin College players scored in double digits led by a game-high 18 from Sarah Putnicki. Sarah Gwin scored 15, Megan O'Neil added 12, and Naomi Anamekwe scored 11. Putnicki grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for a double-double as she was 6-12 shooting overall and 6-7 from the free throw line with a blocked shot. Gwin played all 40 minutes and was 3-12 overall, 2-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-8 from the free throw line with four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot.
Anamekwe had six rebounds, two assists, and was 5-6 from the floor. Grace Moothart scored three points with two assists, a rebound, and a blocked shot in 26 minutes off the bench. Kaylee Lewis had two points, four boards, an assist, and a steal in 27 minutes. Sammi Guffey scored one point in eight minutes off the bench with an assist and a rebound and Brooklyn Matthews was held scoreless but grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot in 10 minutes.
Centenary came out on fire offensively after halftime as Plumber made a layup 15 seconds into the third quarter and after a tying jumper by Lewis, Major, Barrow, and Plumber all sank treys for a 39-32 lead at the 6:28 mark. A layup by Stokes gave the Ladies a 43-33 lead at the 5:25 mark and a basket by Barrow made it 45-33 with 4:22 remaining in the quarter. Putnicki made a pair of free throws with 2:26 remaining to cut the 'Roos' deficit to just five at 46-41 and then a pair of treys and a buzzer-beating basket by Putnicki gave the visitors a 49-48 lead heading into the final quarter, completing a 16-3 run over the final four minutes.
A trey by Gwin gave the 'Roos a 54-48 lead two minutes into the final period but Barrow tied the game at 54-54 with 5:12 left. The teams traded baskets as the lead changed hands multiple times over the next few minutes. A Barrow layup with just 1:44 remaining gave the Ladies a 61-59 lead and Major connected on a trey with 53 seconds remaining for a 64-59 Centenary lead. O'Neil hit a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left to cut the deficit to 64-62 but the 'Roos could not get the tyoing basket and Jones sank a pair of clutch free throws with one second remaining for a 66-62 lead. Gwin then turned the ball over and Major made a layup t the buzzer for the 68-62 final advantage as the Ladies' bench stormed the court to join the five players on the court and the celebration began.
The Ladies will be off for nine days and will return to action at home against the University of St. Thomas (2-11, 1-5 SCAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m.
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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