Shreveport - The Centenary women's basketball team hung tough with the Colorado College Tigers in a close first-half battle before falling short to the visiting Tigers by a score of 72-46 on Sunday afternoon in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on New Year's Eve inside the Gold Dome.
The Ladies (1-11, 0-4 SCAC) trailed just 33-27 at halftime, but the Tigers (9-4, 3-1 SCAC) flexed their muscles and pulled away as they outscored the Maroon and White in the second half, 39-19. Centenary was back in action for the first time since an 88-67 loss at Louisiana Christian on Dec. 19 in Pineville.
Centenary shot just 26.4 % (14-53) from the floor for the game, 16.7 % (4-24) from beyond the arc, and 73.7 % (14-19) from the free throw line. Colorado College finished an even 40 % (24-60) from the floor, 34.6 % (9-26) from 3-point range, and 75 % (15-20) from the FT line. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 49-31 and each team committed 22 turnovers.
The Tigers won the battle in the paint, 30-16, finished with a 15-7 edge in second-chance points, 20-15 in points off turnovers, and 38-9 in bench points while the Ladies outscored the Tigers in fast break points, 9-6. Sophomore G Amiyah Barrow (Baton Rouge, La.) led the Ladies in scoring with 18 points and she was joined in double figures by sophomore G TaNyjah Plumber (Kinder, La.) who scored 10. The Tigers were led by a game-high 24 points from Kayla Mackel and her teammate Zoe Tomlinson was right behind her with 23.
Colorado College outscored Centenary 20-17 in a back and forth first quarter which featured multiple ties and lead changes and then edged the Maroon and White 13-10 in a low-scoring second period. The Tigers went on a 12-3 run to open the third quarter to seize control of the game and outscored the Ladies by 20 in the period while holding them to single-digits in points. Each team scored 12 points in the final period but the damage was done earlier and the Tigers cruised to the road win.
Barrow, who entered the day as the fourth-leading scorer in the conference, played all 40 minutes for the fifth time this season and was 5-9 from the floor and 8-10 from the FT line with five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Barrow has reached double figures 11 times this season and done so nine-straight times. Plumber was 3-13 overall, 3-4 from the FT line, and hit one trey in 36 minutes with five boards, an assist, and a steal. Freshman G Mallory Dougharty (Evadale, Texas) added eight points in 29 minutes off the bench as she was 3-6 from the floor, 1-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-1 at the FT line with three rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore G Madison Davis (Shreveport, La.), sophomore F Kyra Stokes (Shreveport, La.), and sophomore F Layla Powell (Fort Worth, Texas) each scored three points and freshman G Kira Latson (Pearland, Texas) scored one. Freshman F Yadneli Molina (Vinton, La.) played two minutes off the bench but did not score.
Mackel came off the bench for the Tigers and erupted for her game-high 24 points in just 17 minutes of action as she was 8-9 from the floor, 5-6 from beyond the arc, and 3-3 at the FT line with two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Tomlinson, who entered the game as the SCAC's second-leading scorer, was 9-18 from the floor and 5-9 at the FT line in 25 minutes with a game-high 18 rebounds and two assists. Outside of the 47 points scored by Mackel and Tomlinson, seven Tigers combined to score the teams' additional 25 points.
The Ladies, now 0-3 at home this season, were playing just their third game at the Gold Dome this season as they have played nine times away from home in the seasons' first two months.
Centenary remains at home next weekend for a pair of SCAC contests as Texas Lutheran and Southwestern come to town. The Ladies and Bulldogs will square off on Friday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. while the Pirates of Southwestern will be the Ladies' opponent next Sunday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m.
See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/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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