LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - All six SCAC women's basketball teams were in action the week of Dec. 10-16. Southwestern University improved to 6-2 with a narrow 90-86 win over Concordia (Texas). Trinity University junior Murphy Burns scored a game-high 31 points in the Tigers' 114-109 OT loss at La Verne.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College split its two games last week, topping Hendrix 54-49 to snap a four game skid before falling 66-58 to Rhodes. Jacqui Nickell scored 13 points to lead the way against Hendrix as the ‘Roos hit 13-of-14 free throws, but against Rhodes the ‘Roos turned the ball over 25 times in the loss. Brittany Stepanski and Erin Riley each averaged 11.0 points per game for the week, and Shayna Clardy added a 10.5 point per game average. Clardy also hit 4-of-10 from three point range.
Centenary (2-7, 1-2 SCAC) won its only game this week and did it in remarkable fashion knocking off University of Dallas 65-64 in overtime. The victory is the Ladies second in their last three games and first in conference play since joining the SCAC. Sophomore Dionecia Warr led all scorers with 23 points and came up with a huge steal at the end of the game to get the Ladies in position to win. Warr was fouled on the play and went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to knot the score 58-58 at the end of regulation. Freshmen Brianna Edwards hit the game winning free throw in overtime and also had a key block at the end to prevent the Crusaders from hitting a winning shot. Senior and last week’s SCAC Player of the Week Vashni Sharp-Moore contributed 15 points and freshmen Caitlyn Gentry had a season high 12. The Ladies return to action on Monday in a rematch against the Crusaders at 5:30 p.m.
Despite Marissa Gradoz tying her career-high 19 points, Colorado College dropped a 76-61 decision to Johnson and Wales University on Wednesday in Denver, Colo. Gradoz also led the team on defense with nine rebounds, four steals, and a block. Sophomore Courtney Tyus and freshman Katie Wirth each scored 10 points against the Wildcats to aid the offense. The Tigers return to action on Dec. 28-30 as they host Calvin College and Concordia University Wisconsin in Reid Arena.
After a two-week hiatus, Dallas (5-2, 0-1 SCAC)
returned to action. Dallas opened conference-play Saturday
afternoon at the Maher Athletic Center vs. Centenary College of
Louisiana. In a game of eight lead changes, Centenary prevailed
65-64 in overtime. Senior guard Kylie Yoshimura finished with 15
points, including a layup with 54 seconds left in regulation to put
Dallas on top 58-57. Centenary's Dionecia Warr produced a turnover
with five seconds remaining, and was sent to the free-throw line on
a blocking foul with just one second on the scoreboard. Junior post
Christy Allen converted a layup to tie the game 64-64 with 56
seconds to go in overtime. Allen recorded a double-double, amassing
17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds (nine offensive). Brianna
Edwards played hero on this day, netting the game-winning free
throw with 13 ticks showing to disappoint Dallas. Two games are on
tap this week for the Crusaders -- vs. Centenary (Monday, 5:30
p.m.); at Millsaps College (Wednesday, 1 p.m.).
Southwestern had a light week of activity due to finals,
hosting Concordia University on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates
held a comfortable, double-digit lead most of the game but
struggled from the foul line down the stretch, allowing the
Tornados to pull within striking distance with under a minute to
play. A few big made free throws gave Southwestern the close call
90-86 victory. The win improves SU to 6-2 on the season while
Concordia fell to 4-4 on the year. The Pirates return to action on
Monday as they host Wartburg College at 3pm.
Trinity lost a 114-109 overtime game at
the University of La Verne on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers lost
for the first time since the season opener, falling to 4-2 overall
this season. La Verne improves to 4-3 with the win. Despite
shooting under 40% for the first half of the game, La Verne took a
53-37 lead over Trinity at the break. The Tigers shot 44%
from the field, but allowed La Verne to pick up 10 offensive
rebounds in the first 20 minutes, taking 15 more shots. The second
half was almost the exact opposite. This time it was Trinity
with 17 offensive boards, leading to 14 more shots. The Tigers hit
just over 47% of their shots, and put up an outstanding 61 points
in the second half. Hannah Coley hit a three-pointer in the final
seconds to tie the game 98-98 after regulation, erasing a deficit
that reached 18 points early in the second half. In overtime,
Trinity actually took a 109-108 lead with less than a minute to
play, but a pair of Tiger turnovers allowed La Verne to pull away
at the end. Murphy Burns led all players with 31 points for the
Tigers, hitting 13-26 from the field and 4-13 three-point attempts.
It marks the third time in her career for Burns to score 30
or more points. She also added three assists in her 34
minutes off the bench. Trinity continues its California road trip
with games at the University of Redlands and Chapman University on
Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
To view the entire SCAC Hoops Weekly for Week 5,
click here.
