Denver, Colo. – The Centenary women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker, 54-50, on Saturday to the Johnson and Wales Wildcats in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Wildcat Center.
The Ladies (1-17, 1-10 SCAC) lost to the Wildcats by four points for the second time season after dropping a 58-54 decision at home on Dec. 30. Centenary, which lost 59-44 at Colorado College on Friday, lost by single digits for the sixth time this season. Ten of the Ladies' 17 losses this season have been by 14 points or less, with eight by 11 points or less displaying how hard the Ladies have played and how competitive they are. Johnson and Wales improved to 3-13 and 3-8 in SCAC play.
Freshman forward Jazzmyn Jones (Normangee, Texas) scored in double figures for the second-straight day and led Centenary with a career-high 17 points on Saturday in 29 minutes. She made 7-11 shots from the field and grabbed nine rebounds Jones scored 13 on Friday in the loss to Colorado College.
Senior forward Deunya Small (Shreveport) scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. She had 15 rebounds, four points, three blocks, one assist, and one steal in 29 minutes on Friday. Small had seven points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes on Jan., 18 at St. Thomas and entered the weekend ranked seventh in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.1 per game, and ninth in assists (43) and sat in a three-way tie for second in defensive rebounds with 89.
Centenary outrebounded the Wildcats, 44-30 a day after grabbing 46. The Ladies are one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, averaging 40.1 per game entering the weekend which was tied for fourth in the conference with Texas Lutheran.
Junior guard Jennae Mayberry (Clovis, Calif.) added seven rebounds and had three assists, three steals, and four points. Centenary shot 39.6 % from the floor for the game and forced 14 turnovers. The Ladies struggled, though, from the free-throw line, making just seven of 22 attempts. Johnson and Wales also struggled from the line, making only 12 of 22. The Wildcats struggled shooting overall, making just 18 of 50 attempts from the floor (36 %). Two players, Brianna Bailey and Katey Guzman, scored in double figures for the Wildcats led by Bailey's game-high 27.
The Ladies played their second game in a row without leading scorer, junior forward Bre Frierson (Shreveport), who averages 13.7 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game which were both good for eighth-best in the conference entering Friday. Frierson has reached double figures 11 times this season and ranks in the top 10 in the SCAC in field goal percentage, blocked shots, and offensive rebounds.
The Ladies return home next weekend for a pair of SCAC games at the Gold Dome, facing Schreiner on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. and Trinity on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. Five of Centenary's final seven games will be played at home.
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