Ladies Basketball Picked Eighth in SCAC Preseason Poll

Posted: Jan 14, 2021

Lawrenceville, Ga. - The Centenary women's basketball team is picked to finish eighth in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2021 season, it was announced on Thursday following exclusive voting by the league's head coaches.

The Ladies, led by third-year head coach Jason Schmitz, received 15 points and are predicted to finish behind Texas Lutheran, their season-opening opponent, and ahead of the University of Dallas. Austin College is predicted to win the league and received 61 points and five first-place votes. Trinity (60 points; 4 first-place votes) was predicted to finish second, Colorado College (46 points) third, Schreiner (39 points) fourth, and rounding out the top five is St. Thomas with 37 points. Southwestern, with 32 points, is predicted to finish sixth.

Schmitz, the 10th head coach in Ladies Basketball history, is the longest-tenured coach in program history in the division III era. His 2021 youthful but talented roster features nine underclassmen including four freshmen and two junior college transfers.

The Ladies battled through a difficult season in 2019-20, going 2-23 overall and 2-16 in SCAC play, but thirteen of Centenary's losses last season were by 14 points or less, with nine by 12 points or less and six by single digits displaying how hard the Ladies played and how competitive they were. The Maroon and White ended their season on a high note by scoring a season-high number of points in a dominant 73-51 home victory over Dallas on Feb. 22. and earning their largest margin of victory of the season after previously defeating Southwestern by four, 61-57, on Jan. 10 at home.

Centenary finished the season as one of the top rebounding teams in the SCAC, ranking in the top five in the league in both rebounding offense and defense. The Ladies ranked fourth in rebounding offense (40.6/game), fifth in rebounding defense (39.3/game), and third overall in total number of defensive rebounds.

The Ladies will play a unique, shortened schedule this season due to COVID-19 influences. Centenary will play 12 total regular-season games, all conference contests, with six at home and six on the road. The Maroon and White will open the season on Friday, Jan. 15 against Texas Lutheran with the tip time set for 5 p.m. in the Gold Dome. The Bulldogs and Ladies play again on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m.

Centenary then hits the road for four-straight games, facing Schreiner in Kerrville on Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. and Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. The Ladies then travel to Dallas to face the Crusaders on Jan. 29 (5 p.m.) and Jan. 30 (1 p.m.). Centenary returns home to face Colorado College on Feb. 5 and 6 at 5 and Noon respectively and are at Austin College on Feb. 19 (5 p.m.) and Feb. 20 (4 p.m.). The Ladies then close out the regular season at home on Feb. 26 (5 p.m.) and 27 (1 p.m.) versus St. Thomas.

A link to the Ladies' complete schedule can be found here:

https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/schedule

Live stats and live video are available for all home games.

2021 SCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)

Women's Predicted order of Finish