LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Conference play begin the week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2 as four of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's six women's basketball teams tipped off the conference schedule. Preseason favorite Southwestern and Trinity each went 2-0 during the first week of conference play.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College team went 1-2 on the week, topping UT-Dallas 55-52 before falling 66-54 to Southwestern and 65-59 against Trinity. Against UTD, the ‘Roos got 18 points on 6-of-8 three point shooting from Jacqui Nickell as the team built a big lead and was able to hold off a late comeback attempt by the Comets. On Friday Southwestern knocked down 14 three pointers on their way to handing the ‘Roos the loss despite 18 points and 15 rebounds from Brooke Melton, and on Saturday the ‘Roos rallied from an 11 point deficit in the second half but could not quite overcome the Tigers. Melton averaged a double-double for the week with 11.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and added 3.0 steals per game. Shayna Clardy continued her hot shooting, hitting 6-of-13 three pointers for the week while averaging 9.7 points per game.
Centenary ended up going 0-3 this week, falling
to McNeese State, Trinity University, and Southwestern University.
The Ladies (0-6, 0-2 SCAC) opened conference play this past weekend
and while showing some signs of improving, gave up big runs that
proved to be too much to overcome. Against Trinity, Centenary
jumped out to an early lead 7-2 and led throughout most of the
first half. Trinity would come back at the end and was up 36-31
during half-time. It was all Trinity in the second half as its lead
quickly increased to 75-54 within the first five minutes, and
eventually would lead by as many as 21 on the evening as they won .
Senior Vashni Sharp-Moore led the Ladies with 19 points and
freshmen Brianna Edwards had a double-double with 15 points and 17
rebounds. On Saturday, Centenary would fall to preseason favorites
Southwestern University 95-79. The Pirates shot 43.3 (10-23)
percent from behind the 3-point line and 41.1 percent from the
game. Four Ladies scored double-figures on the night though led by
sophomore Dionecia Warr with a season high 27 points. Sharp-Moore
followed with 21 points, Edwards had 15, and freshmen Caitlyn
Gentry also notched a season high 10 points. The Ladies will host
LeTourneau University and travel across town to Louisiana State
University Shreveport on Friday.
Colorado College hit the road for the first time this
season as it played Whitworth College and Whitman College in
Spokane, Wash. Senior Sarah Gunkel led the team averaging 11.5
points a game and 9.0 rebounds a game. Sophomore Courtney Tyus
added 9.5 points a game, while freshman Danielle Davis shot .500
from the floor on 5-of-10 shooting over the weekend. CC dropped
both of its games falling to the Pirates, 102-40, and to the
Athletics, 85-45. The Tigers return home as it hosts Austin
College on Dec. 7-8 for their first conference matchup of the
season.
Dallas (5-1) went 2-0 on the week in a pair of home games,
and are unbeaten in their previous four contests. On Tuesday at the
Maher Athletic Center, Dallas boasted a commanding 43-14 halftime
advantage over Southwestern Adventist University en route
to an 81-39 victory. In the triumph, Ayanna Allen's 14 points tied
for the game-high, while five Crusaders finished in double-figures.
Wednesday evening paired head coach Jina Johansen's squad versus
Dallas Christian College. Dallas held a 47-21 lead at the break,
before achieving an 82-42 win. Kylie Yoshimura finished tied for a
game-high 15 points, while Christy Allen netted 14. Dallas is idle
until Saturday, Dec. 15, when they open SCAC-play at home versus
Centenary College of Louisiana.
With two record setting nights for the Pirates,
Southwestern went 2-0 in games this week to open
SCAC conference action with a bang. Friday night, behind Chelsea
Leeder's record setting seven three-pointers, SU defeated Austin
College 66-54. The Pirates' defense really was the real star as
Southwestern allowed just 18 first half points and held the 'Roos
to below 30% from both the floor and three point range. Saturday
evening it was Jordan Owens who had a record-setting night, scoring
34 points to break the SU record she tied earlier in the season. A
huge second half led to the win as the Pirates quickly watched
their lead balloon to 20 points at the beginning of the second
half. With the pair of wins Southwestern improves to 5-2 on the
season and 2-0 in the SCAC. They have a much deserved break this
week and return to action on December 15th, facing Concordia
University at home.
Trinity went 3-0 in its three road games
last week, highlighted by a weekend sweep to open SCAC action
against Centenary and Austin College. The Tigers improved their
winning streak to four games with the wins, and have not lost since
the two-point defeat in the season opener. The Tigers edged Mary
Hardin-Baylor 68-66 to start the week, then earned a 75-54 win over
Centenary just two nights later. On Saturday night, Trinity held on
for a 65-59 win over Austin College to wrap up the week. Up
next, the Tigers will continue a string of six straight road games
by traveling to California after finals. Trinity will face La Verne
on December 15, followed by back-to-back games at Redlands and
Chapman on December 18 and 19.
To view the entire SCAC Hoops Weekly for Week 3,
click here.
