SUWANEE, Ga. - In a battle of the Western Division versus the Eastern Division this past weekend the Western Division took advantage of being at home posting a record of 9-3 over the East. Austin College and DePauw both extended their winning streaks to eight and nine respectively and sit atop their divisions.

-AROUND THE SCAC -

Austin College ran its winning streak to eight games over the weekend with a pair of victories over Rhodes and Birmingham-Southern to improve to 12-3 on the year. Katy Williams had a monster game against Rhodes, scoring 23 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and handing out five assists in a 75-66 win over Rhodes and Shayna Clardy hit 4-of-6 threes to finish with 16 points against the Lynx. The ’Roos, who were on fire from three point range all weekend, hit 9-of-18 treys in the victory. Williams recorded another double-double with 15 points and 10 boards in a 76-69 win over BSC and Amber Stafford scored 17 points and hit 4-of-7 from deep, including two clutch treys late in the game. Kersti Marusich joined Williams and Stafford in double digits, hitting 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from downtown to finish with 14 points in the game.

Birmingham-Southern lost twice on the road this week, dropping an 84-57 decision to Colorado College, Friday, and losing to Austin College, 76-69, on Sunday. The Panthers have now lost five straight games, dropping to 7-8 on the season and 2-5 in the conference. Freshman Melanie Short led BSC against Colorado College with 11 points and eight rebounds, and she also led the team with six rebounds against Austin College, while freshman Alex Adams was the leading scorer against the ‘Roos with 18 points. Adams leads the team overall averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a contest.

Centre split a pair of SCAC road games defeating Millsaps 54-41 Friday and then falling to Hendrix 64-54 Sunday. The Colonels led by three (26-23) at halftime against the Majors, but forced 25 turnovers in the game and limited Millsaps to only 25.9% (7-27) from the field in the second half for the win. Centre was out-rebounded 38-29 in its loss to the Warriors. Hendrix made 8 of 19 (42.1%) from beyond the three-point arc compared to only 1 of 8 (12.5%) by the Colonels. Centre, now 10-5 overall and 5-2 in the SCAC, will host Trinity and Southwestern on back-to-back nights this weekend.

Alyssa Aldaz knocked down a three-pointer with 1:07 remaining to snap a 71-71 tie as Colorado College posted a 76-71 victory over Rhodes College. Becky Luetjen, who posted her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds, sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with four seconds to play. The Lynx led for the final time at 62-60 with 8:12 to go, but Emily Wattman-Turner scored seven points during an 11-4 run that gave CC a 71-66 lead when she nailed a three-pointer with 4:34 remaining. Collier Clegg finished with a game-high 23 points and a season-best eight rebounds. Colorado College made a season-high 13 three-point baskets and coasted to an 84-57 victory over Birmingham-Southern College on Friday night. Clegg was 4-for-7 from behind the arc and led five Tigers in double figures with a game-high 15 points. CC shot season bests of .544 from the floor and .542 from three-point range. Hannah Hoopingarner finished with a season-high 12 points, while Jenny Knapp scored a season-high 10 points. Jordy Stephenson recorded career highs with five assists and three blocked shots. All but one player scored for CC and everyone had at least one rebound. Colorado College travels to Sewanee and Oglethorpe University this weekend.

DePauw improved to 13-3 overall and 6-1 in the SCAC and extended its win streak to nine following wins at Hendrix (65-52) and Millsaps (71-35). The Tigers used a 10-0 run late in the first half to take the lead for good. DePauw stretched the lead to as many as 16 points on three occasions in the second half. The Warriors got as close as nine, but DePauw held off the late charge. Katie Aldrich, the SCAC's Player of the Week last week, led the Tigers with 21 points, while Brooke Osborne added 12. Emily Marshall grabbed 12 rebounds as DePauw held a 41-34 edge on the boards. Mathews paced the Tigers with five assists. The Tigers shot 37.5 percent from the floor to Hendrix's 28 percent. In the win at Millsaps, the Tigers jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the opening four minutes and never trailed. DePauw took a 39-20 lead to the break before embarking on a 17-3 run over the opening 7:26 of the second half which sealed the win. Kate Walker led the Tigers with a career-high 14 pints, while Aldrich added 12. Walker and Kristin Barrow each grabbed five rebounds as the Tigers held a 45-15 advantage on the boards. Walker and Osborne each dished out four assists. DePauw outscored Millsaps, 19-0, in second-chance points. The Tigers shot 51.9 percent from the floor for the game including 58.6 percent in the first half, while Millsaps connected on just 31.8 percent from the floor. The Tigers also hit 9-of-23 three-point shots. For the weekend, Aldrich averaged 16.5 points per game and hit 73.7 percent of her field goal tries. Walker added 10.0 points and 3.5 assists, while Marshall led the way with 8.0 rebounds. The Tigers outrebounded the opposition 86-49 and held them to just 29.8 percent shooting from the field.

Hendrix split a pair of SCAC home games this weekend with a 52-65 loss to DePauw University on Friday evening and a 65-54 win over Centre College on Sunday afternoon. Hendrix now stands at 10-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play for a two-way tie for second place in the SCAC West Division with Trinity University. Hendrix College sophomore guard Anna Roane scored a career-high 17 points, however the Warriors shot just 28.0 percent from the field and turned the ball over 17 times in their loss to DePauw. Hendrix turned the ball over a season-high 26 times, however, the Warriors forced Centre to give the ball up 20 times for the on Sunday afternoon at Grove Gymnasium. The Warriors shot just 33.3 percent in the first half and found themselves trailing 9-20 with 9:02 left before the break. Hendrix settled down and finished the half on a 17-2 run which was highlighted by senior guard Amanda Morris’ last-second 3-pointer, giving the Warriors a 26-22 advantage at halftime. Centre outscored Hendrix 16-5 in the first five minutes of the second half to lead 38-31 with 14:26 to go. The Warriors answered with a 22-8 stretch over the next 10 minutes to lead 53-46. Centre made it a five-point game with 2:36 left, until Hendrix senior forward Christina Byler drained a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to seal the deal.

Millsaps completed a six-game homestand with a pair of conference losses to Centre College and league-leading DePauw University over the weekend. The Majors, now 0-16 overall and 0-7 in the SCAC, got a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Shante’ Morton, who recorded her seventh double-double of the season, in a 54-41 loss to the Colonels Friday night. Eight different players scored for Millsaps, but only Morton recorded more than three points. Sunday afternoon against DePauw, all nine players dressed for the Majors saw action and made the score sheet led by freshman Kristin Salmon’s nine points. The Tigers led from the opening tip and dominated its way to a 71-35 victory, holding the Majors to their second lowest point total of the season. Millsaps will hit the road for a pair of conference games as they face Rhodes College and Birmingham-Southern College, January 22 and 24.

Oglethorpe lost two road contests to Trinity and Southwestern in Texas this past weekend. Against Trinity on Friday, The Stormy Petrels never held a lead in the contest and shot 32% from the field against a tough Tiger squad looking for revenge after Oglethorpe topped Trinity in last year's SCAC final for the conference championship. The Petrels hung tough in the first half and were within shouting distance of the Tigers at the break, trailing 49-37. Trinity, however, turned a 53-41 advantage at the 17:42 mark of the second half into an 85-55 lead with 5:30 remaining on the strength of a 32-14 run. Against Southwestern on Saturday, the Petrels were done in by cold shooting (29%) in dropping their fourth straight conference contest. The Petrels only trailed the Pirates by a scant three points (14-11) after two Rena Crossland free throws with 13:08 to play in the first half but the Pirates exploded for a 22-3 run over the next 4:54 seconds to establish a 36-14 lead to take control of the game. Oglethorpe managed to whittle the lead down to 13 points with 1:18 to play in the first half but Southwestern scored the final four points to take a 45-28 lead into the break. Sarah Jones hit back-to-back threes with 8 minutes remaining in the second half to bring Oglethorpe within 15 points of Southwestern with the score 69-54 but Oglethorpe would get no closer and fell for the sixth time in seven games. Oglethorpe is now 7-9 on the season and 2-5 in SCAC play. The Petrels return home to face Austin College this Friday at 6:00 p.m. on Pinholster Court.

Rhodes dropped two road SCAC contests this past weekend and fell to 9-7 and 2-5 on the season. The Lynx had all five starters score in double figures in their 75-66 loss to Austin College on January 15th. Sophomore guard Sharwil Bell recorded her fourth double-double of the season. The Lynx dropped a 76-71 heartbreaker at Colorado College in Colorado Springs on January 17th. With the score tied at 71-71 with just over a minute to player the Tigers hit a three point field goal, to take the lead for good. Rhodes will host the Millsaps Majors on January 22nd. Lynx senior guard Becky Atnip continues to lead the SCAC in scoring at 17.1 ppg. Atnip and senior guard Becca Clarin are first and second respectively in the SCAC in three point field goals made a game. Atnip is averaging 2.6 makes and Clarin 2.5 makes a game.

Sewanee dropped a pair of games in Texas this weekend, first to Southwestern on Friday and then Trinity on Sunday. The Tigers knocked down 15 three-pointers Friday and 20 on the weekend. They lead the country for Division III schools with 10 threes a game. Lauren Gulley is leading Sewanee with a 13.5 point per game average. Dani Kabbes is leading with 7.1 rebounds per game also 11.7 points per game. The Tigers are now 4-9 overall and 1-5 in the SCAC. They will host Oakwood Wednesday before hosting Austin College and Colorado College this weekend in SCAC play.

Southwestern swept home SCAC contests over the weekend to improve to 8-8 on the year and 4-3 in the conference. In an up tempo game Southwestern was able to hang close and eventually take control of the game, winning 83-71. Junior Shae Seagraves posted a new Southwestern scoring record since joining the SCAC with 32 points in the win. Saturday SU jumped on the Stormy Petrels early and never looked back as the Pirates forced more turnovers (15) then points they allowed (14) through the opening 14 minutes. Southwestern never let Oglethorpe within 15 points as the secured the 92-63 victory. They head out on an important two game road trip as they play at DePauw on Friday and Centre on Saturday.

Trinity swept a pair of SCAC home games over the weekend, and the Tigers have now won four of their last five outings. On Friday, Trinity tied its season-high with 92 points in a lopsided 92-63 win over defending SCAC champion Oglethorpe. Sunday’s game was more of the same, highlighted by Trinity setting a new season-high in a 95-71 win over Sewanee. Kelsey Goodell scored a career-best 25 points in Friday’s win, while Ali Marzella led the Tigers with 27 points on Sunday afternoon. Danielle Hubenak finished with 17 points against Oglethorpe, while Abby Dietert scored 18 against Sewanee. Lindsay Hovland came off the bench in both games, but still managed to average 7.0 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game for the weekend. Trinity now stands tied for second in the SCAC West Division, but will face a tough road challenge this weekend, taking on the top two teams in the East in Centre and DePauw. Trinity was swept by the two teams in the regular season last year – also on the road – but Trinity did pull off a 98-80 win over DePauw in the semifinals of the SCAC Tournament.

To view the enitre SCAC Hoops Weekly for week eight, click here.