Lawrenceville, Ga. – The Centenary women's basketball team is predicted to finish seventh in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2019-20 season, it was announced on Wednesday following exclusive voting by the league's head coaches.
The Ladies, led by second-year head coach Jason Schmitz, received 35 points in the poll and are picked ahead of St. Thomas, Johnson & Wales, and Dallas. Centenary, 8-17 overall a season ago posted a 6-10 mark in SCAC play, its most conference wins in a single season in the division III era. Centenary opens the regular season at home on Sunday, Nov. 10 against Hendrix at 1 p.m.
Centenary will face McNeese on the road in an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Charles before its regular season opener. The Ladies will also face Grambling in an exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 13 on the road at 7 p.m.
Centenary will play 12 home games with nine of those being SCAC contests. The Ladies will play on the road 13 times with nine of those being SCAC games and four non-conference games. The Maroon and White finish off the month of November with road games at Mississippi University for Women (Nov. 22), Belhaven (Nov. 23), and Hardin-Simmons (Nov. 30).
The Ladies play at LeTourneau on Dec. 7 and then return home on Dec. 14 to face Mississippi University for Women for the second time. The Ladies open SCAC play on the road at Austin College on Friday, Dec. 20 and welcome Colorado College to town on Sunday, Dec. 29 for their first conference home game. Centenary finishes the regular season with three straight home games against St. Thomas (Feb. 14), Austin College (Feb. 21), and the University of Dallas (Feb. 22). The SCAC tournament is set for Feb. 28-March 1 in Kerrville, Texas hosted by Schreiner University.
Centenary features essentially a brand new roster this season with only four returnees. Junior forward Bre Frierson, a local product from Evangel, looks to build on an outstanding sophomore season in which she was an all-conference selection and will be a leader with a roster featuring nine newcomers.
"The Ladies have been working incredibly hard so far this season and have done a great job grasping the new concepts we have been introducing on both ends of the floor," said Schmitz.
"I'm incredibly excited to see if Bre Frierson can follow up on her all-conference selection last year in which she finished first in FG% in conference play and was also top 10 in the country over the entire season. Additionally, we will be looking for continued improvement from both Deunya Small (Shreveport/C.E. Byrd) and Darelzray Bellard (Mamou, La.) both in on-floor production and leadership.
"The freshman are working hard, and don't be surprised to see a few of them make an instant impact. It is imperative that we get off to a good start this year and get some positive momentum going into conference play."
The roster also features three transfers: Tacoya Allen (Texas A&M International), Jennae Mayberry (Santa Barbara City College), and Alex Williams (Bossier Parish Community College) that will all be counted on for production.
"Jennae Mayberry will provide great length and athleticism on both ends of the floor, Tacoya Allen brings toughness and depth to the point guard spot, and Alex Williams should provide some much needed perimeter scoring," said Schmitz.
A link to the complete schedule is available here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2019-20/schedule
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