2021 CENTENARY LADIES BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEW
The Centenary women's basketball team finally opens its 2021 season at home on Friday at 5 p.m. against the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Gold Dome.
In a normal season the Ladies would be well into their conference schedule but continuing implications due to COVID-19 postponed the beginning of the season to this weekend. The Ladies, along with their fellow SCAC opponents, will play a unique, shortened schedule this season. There will be 12 total regular-season games, all conference contests, with six at home and six on the road. The Ladies and Bulldogs will 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.
The Ladies are picked to finish eighth in the SCAC this season, it was announced on Thursday following exclusive voting by the league's head coaches. Centenary, 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.
"To say we are excited about tipping off on Friday might be an understatement," said Schmitz. Simply put, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and the enthusiasm of all the players has gone up tremendously."
"I'm incredibly proud of how they have handled the adversity these past 10 months, whether that is dealing with Covid-19 or the multitudes of social issues facing our country. This group of young women is truly inspiring and I cannot wait to see how they perform this season."
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 return the majority of their top scorers from last season and three of their top five rebounders. Junior guard Alex Williams (Shreveport, La.) was limited to just five games with four starts due to a season-ending injury at the end of November, but was the Ladies' offensive leader in her brief time on the court as she averaged 13.2 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game in 29.8 minutes per game.
"The return of Alex Williams from injury cannot go unrecognized," said Schmitz. "We saw flashes of brilliance in the games she played last year, and I'm excited for her to be healthy this season."
Senior guard Jennae Mayberry (Clovis, Calif.) was a difference maker and one of the Ladies' most dynamic players in her first season in the Maroon and White following a transfer from Santa Barbara City College. She was one of only two players on the team to start all 25 games last season as she averaged 5.4 points per game and averaged 31.1 minutes played per game. Mayberry averaged 5.9 points per game in conference play, averaged 2.3 assists per game (second on the team) and tallied 58 assists for the season, also second on the team. She averaged 4.8 rebounds per game, good for third on the team and had four double-digit scoring games during the season. She scored an impressive 52 points in a six-game stretch from Jan. 3-24 and led the team with 25 steals.
Sophomore guard Destini Powell (Minden, La.) made an immediate impact in her rookie season with the Ladies as she started all 25 games and averaged 7.3 points per game, which ranked second on the team. She averaged 4.5 rebounds per game (fourth on team) and averaged 24.3 minutes played per game, which was third-most on the team. She shot 51.6 % from the field for the season (second-highest on team) and had seven double-digit scoring performances.
Sophomore forward Jazzmyn Jones (Normangee, Texas) played in 25 games with four starts in her freshman campaign with the Ladies. She averaged 6.0 points per game in 14.6 minutes per game played, and averaged 6.7 points per game in conference play. She had four double-digit scoring games four and averaged 3.8 rebounds per game.
Sophomore forward Amelia Bagwell (West Monroe, La.) played in 21 games with four starts during her rookie season with the Ladies. She averaged 3.9 points per game in 15.0 minutes per game, averaged 3.6 rebounds per game, and scored 3.6 points per game in conference play.
"I love the talent we have been able to recruit these past two years and look forward to seeing them play together this season," said Schmitz. "Leading the charge for us is point guard Jennae Mayberry. Simply put, as she goes we go. Other key returners for us who saw big minutes last year are Destini Powell, Jazzmyn Jones and Amelia Bagwell. I'm excited to see these three sophomores build on successful Freshman campaigns.
"Additionally, I expect big things from transfers Ani Uikilifi (San Bruno, Calif.), Kristen Stuart (Kilgore, Texas) and freshman Addy Tremie (Sulphur, La.). All three provide skillsets that will allow them to be successful for us this season. Other players I expect to contribute this season are seniors Darelzray Bellard (Mamou, La.) and Tacoya Allen (Killeen, Texas). Each will provide us both valuable minutes and leadership throughout the season.
A link to the Ladies' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/schedule.
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