Shreveport – The Centenary women's basketball program is poised to take that next big step this season, and it all starts on Tuesday evening as the Ladies face the Louisiana Christian University Wildcats in Pineville, La.
The Ladies and Wildcats will meet in a non-conference contest set for 6 p.m. at H.O. West Fieldhouse. The teams met last season in Shreveport as LC recorded a 71-56 victory. Live stats and live video are available for Tuesday's season opener at the links below:
Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lcwildcats/
Video: https://www.lcwildcats.net/sports/2017/11/21/boxcast-stream.aspx?path=gen
"I feel that this team has more bounce than last year's team," said Centenary head coach Dana Dunson. "I think we will surprise some people and give a lot of teams a run."
Dunson enters his second season as head coach of the Ladies in 2022-23. The Ladies are scheduled to play 25 regular-season games – 10 at home, 13 on the road, and two neutral-site contests. Centenary will play 15 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference games – eight at home and seven on the road.
Centenary finished 4-20 overall and 2-14 in conference play last season, but the Ladies' record was deceiving as they lost 13 games by 15 points or less and five were single-digit losses displaying the toughness and determination by the Maroon and White all season. The Ladies finished last season on a high note by snapping a 12-game losing streak on Senior Day with a 61-53 victory over St. Thomas in the Gold Dome, winning its Senior Day game for the third-straight season.
The Ladies will play a pair of games in the East Texas Baptist University Tournament on Nov. 11-12 in Marshall, Texas as the Maroon and White will play LeTourneau University and the host Tigers. Centenary will face ULM in an exhibition game in Monroe on Nov. 15 and then plays its home opener on Thursday, Nov. 17 versus Wiley College at 5:30 p.m. in the Gold Dome.
Sophomore G Alana Jones (Shreveport, La.), senior F Jazzmyn Jones (Normangee, Texas), and senior F Amelia Bagwell (West Monroe, La.) headline the group of returnees for the Ladies. Alana Jones was one of the top all-around freshmen in the conference last season as she played in 22 games and made nine starts as a rookie for the Ladies. She averaged 4.6 PPG, 4.7 rebounds game and played 24.3 minutes per game and was third on the team in free-throw percentage (71.4%) which ranked eighth in the conference. She recorded a pair of double-digit scoring games highlighted by a season-high 15 in the Ladies' home finale, a 61-53 victory over St. Thomas on Feb. 13, and also had two double-digit rebounding games, and grabbed a season-high 11 at Trinity on Feb. 5.
Jazzmyn Jones has established herself as one of the top all-around players in the conference as she played in 23 games and made 10 starts last season. She averaged 9.7 PPG and 5.0 rebounds per game, both good for third on the team. She also averaged 24.3 minutes per game and played 20 or more minutes 20 times and 30 or more eight times. She shot 43.8 % from the floor for the season, best on the team and seventh-best in the conference. She ranked 18th in the league in scoring, 14th in offensive rebounds, and 15th in blocked shots, scoring in double figures 13 times including a season-high 17 in the Ladies' season-opening win at home over LeTourneau as she was 8-14 shooting overall in 27 minutes.
Bagwell played in 24 games and made 13 starts and averaged 5.0 PPG (fourth-best on team) and 3.7 rebounds per game- good for sixth on the team. She averaged 16.5 minutes per game and played 20 or more 11 times and a season-high 30 at Colorado College on Jan. 7. Bagwell scored in double figures four times with a season-high 13 at home versus Southwestern on Jan. 12. She grabbed four or more rebounds in a game 13 times and recorded a season-high nine versus Schreiner on Jan. 30. Bagwell, a super defensive player, tallied two or more assists in a game twice, two or more steals three times, and blocked two or more shots twice and had a season-high four at Schreiner on Feb. 4.
"As I look at the returning players from last season, Alana Jones has showing a lot of improvement on her shooting and maturity," said Dunson. I feel that she is more focused on what we want to accomplish this year as a team."
"Jazzmyn and Amelia, along with others like sophomore G Dymon Drumgo (Alexandria, La.) and senior G Patience Bates (Houston, Texas) make me excited about what we can accomplish and I believe that there will be several freshmen that will step up and perform above their ability."
Ten new players have joined the roster this season – nine true freshmen and one junior college transfer, displaying Dunson and assistant coach Paul Reed's tireless offseason recruiting efforts. Eight rookie guards, one freshman forward, and nine in-state players including two from right here in Shreveport make up the new group of Ladies.
Freshman G Madison Davis (Shreveport, La.) and high school teammate, freshman F Kyra Stokes (Shreveport, La.) will team up after prepping together at Captain Shreve High School where they won a pair of state titles. Sophomore G Cairah Green (Zachary, La.) joins the Ladies after transferring from Panola Junior College and freshman G Jillian Peacock (West Monroe, La.) and freshman G Olivia Sepulvado (Zwolle, La.) come to Centenary from within the close region.
The other rookies who make up the incoming class are - freshman G Keyonna Armelin (New Iberia, La.), freshman G Amiyah Barrow (Baton Rouge, La.), freshman G TaNyjah Plumber (Kinder, La.), freshman G Brailey Major (Opelousas, La.), and freshman G Lauren Castillo (Keller, Texas).
The Ladies will play all but two games on the road during the opening month of the season as they will face Hendrix College on Friday, Nov. 18 one day after their home opener before hitting the road for the final four games of the month – at Hendrix on Nov. 21, at Millsaps on Nov. 26, versus Birmingham-Southern on Nov. 27 in the Millsaps Tournament in Jackson, Miss., and at Wiley on Nov. 29.
Centenary opens SCAC play at home on Dec. 2 against Trinity and then faces Schreiner on Dec. 4. The Ladies will hit the road to face a pair of conference foes – Southwestern (Dec. 16) and Texas Lutheran (Dec. 17) before closing the calendar year at home against Dallas (Dec. 30) and Austin College (Dec. 31).
The Ladies are home to begin the month of January, facing St. Thomas (Jan. 10) and Colorado College (Jan. 13), head to Trinity (Jan. 20) and Schreiner (Jan. 27), then are back home to play Southwestern (Jan. 27) and TLU (Jan. 29). Centenary is at Dallas on Feb. 3 and then at Austin College on Feb. 4 before the Maroon and White are off for 10 days before finishing the regular season with a pair of road games at St. Thomas on Feb. 14 and Colorado College on Feb. 19.
The 2023 SCAC Championship is set for Feb. 24-26 in San Antonio and hosted by Trinity University. Centenary was picked to finish ninth in the conference this season in the preseason poll released last week.
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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