Shreveport - The Centenary women's basketball team was down just six points entering the final quarter on Friday night versus the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest before the visiting Bulldogs pulled away late for an 80-56 victory at the Gold Dome.
The Ladies (1-12, 0-5 SCAC) will face the Southwestern University Pirates on Sunday at 2 p.m. Texas Lutheran improved to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in SCAC play following Friday's win.
Centenary shot the ball well, finishing a solid 38.6 % (17-44) from the floor, 40 % (8-20) from beyond the arc, and 73.7 % (14-19) from the free throw line. Texas Lutheran was also solid on offense, shooting 35.7 % (25-70) overall, 38.1 % (8-21) from 3-point range, and 81.5 % (22-27) from the FT line. The Bulldogs used their size advantage to outrebound the Ladies 51-25 and won the points in the paint battle, 26-16, and had 13 second-chance points to the Ladies' one.
TLU was ahead 20-16 after the first quarter and outscored Centenary 17-12 in the second period to lead 37-28 at halftime. The Ladies outscored the Bulldogs 20-17 in the third period, but a 26-8 fourth quarter in favor of the Bulldogs allowed them to put the game away. Centenary turned the ball over 21 times which led to 25 points for the Bulldogs while the visitors turned it over just 12 times which the Ladies converted into eight points. The Ladies finished with an edge in fast break points, 9-4, and the Bulldogs' bench outscored the Ladies' reserves, 26-9. The Ladies tallied 11 assists and five steals while the Bulldogs finished with 14 assists, 11 steals, and blocked five shots.
Sophomore G TaNyjah Plumber (Kinder, La.) led the Ladies with 18 points as she was 5-11 in 35 minutes and was 4-6 from beyond the arc, and 4-6 from the FT line with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. She has now scored in double figures six times this season and done so in three-straight games. Sophomore G Madison Davis (Shreveport, La.) joined her in double figures with a season-best 10 points on 3-5 shooting in 39 minutes. Davis was 2-3 from beyond the arc and 2-3 from the FT line with three rebounds and two assists as she reached double figures for the first time this season.
Freshman G Mallory Dougharty (Evadale, Texas) and sophomore F Kyra Stokes (Shreveport, La.) each scored eight points, sophomore F Layla Powell (Fort Worth, Texas) had six, and sophomore G Amiyah Barrow (Baton Rouge, La.) added five. Dougharty was 2-5 from the floor in 23 minutes off the bench and added one trey and went 3-4 from the FT line. She had two rebounds and one steal. Stokes was 4-10 from the floor in 29 minutes with an assist and a steal, Powell was 4-4 at the FT line in 26 minutes with two boards and an assist, and Barrow was 2-5 from the floor with a trey in 39 minutes with a game-high five assists, four boards, and one steal. Freshman G Kira Latson (Pearland, Texas) played six minutes off the bench and chipped in one point with one rebound. Freshman F Yadneli Molina (Vinton, La.) played two minutes off the bench but did not score.
Kayla Presley scored a game-high 19 points to lead all scorers and she was joined in double figures by three others – Lauren Sansano (15), and Kailee Mulkey and Sarahi Jones (10 each). Dav'Yanna Jones scored seven off the bench, Tanyse Moehrig had six, and six other reserves combined to score 13 points.
Presley played 27 minutes and was 5-7 from the floor, 1-1 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 8-8 from the FT line with three rebounds, four steals, an assist, and a blocked shot and Sansano was 4-5 from the floor in 21 minutes, 3-3 from beyond the arc, and 4-5 at the FT line with four boards, three assists, and a steal. Jones was 4-9 from the floor and 2-2 at the FT line in 17 minutes with five rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot and Mulkey was 3-9 from the floor, 2-6 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 at the FT line in 24 minutes with four rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/schedule
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