Women's Basketball Recap (Week 3) - Around the SCAC

Posted: Dec 08, 2009

SUWANEE, Ga. - Centre bounced back from a three game losing streak with two tough road conference wins over Birmingham-Southern and Rhodes. The Colonels are one of four remaining teams that are still perfect in league play joined by Colorado College (2-0), Oglethorpe (1-0) and Trinity (1-0).

- AROUND THE SCAC -

Austin College split its first two games of the conference season over the weekend, falling to Hendrix 51-46 before cruising past Millsaps 62-33. Against Hendrix the ’Roos led by six at the half but shot just 23.1% from the field and hitting just 5-of-11 free throws after the break. Katy Williams had 14 points and seven rebounds and Shayna Clardy had 10 points to lead the ’Roos while Kayla Redden grabbed a career best 11 rebounds. Against Millsaps, the ‘Roos outscored the Majors by 15 in the first half and 14 in the second and got points from 10 different players in the win. Kersti Marusich had 12 points to lead the way and Spenser Cruikshank added 10 points and seven rebounds in the victory. Austin College is off until December 30 when they take on LeTourneau University.

Birmingham-Southern opened conference play this weekend at home, splitting with a tough 74-62 loss to Centre, Friday, but bouncing back with an impressive 74-66 win over No. 20 DePauw, Sunday. BSC now stands at 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in the SCAC. Freshman Alex Adams leads the Panthers in both scoring (11.6ppg) and rebounding (7.0rpg), while sophomore Sam Davidison leads with 2.7 assists per game and freshman Stephanie Stanley leads with 2.1 steals per game. BSC takes a week-long break for final exams before returning to action at home on Sunday, Dec. 13, taking on in-state rival Huntingdon College at 2 p.m. CT in Bill Battle Coliseum.

Centre snapped a three-game losing streak with a pair of road SCAC wins. The Colonels opened the weekend by defeating Birmingham Southern 74-62 and then downed Rhodes 84-70 to start the SCAC season 2-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Centre shot 54.9% (28-51) in the win over Birmingham Southern, including 18-27 (66.7%) in the first half. After shooting only 32.3% (10-31) in the first half against Rhodes, the Colonels shot 57.1% (20-35) in the second half to pull away for the win. Centre will take the week off for finals and then return to action next week against Mount St. Joseph, St. Catharine and Marietta.

Becky Luetjen matched her season average with 18 points and dominated the boards with a career-high 16 rebounds, helping Colorado College to a 93-82 victory over previously undefeated Hendrix. Eliese Hansberry contributed 20 points and seven rebounds as CC improved to 5-1 for the season and 2-0 in league play with its third consecutive triumph. The 93 points were a season high for the Colorado College. Luetjen and Hansberry were among six Tigers scoring in double figures, as Alyssa Aldaz sank 15 points, Collier Clegg 14, Kalli-Anne Kemling 12 and Emily Wattman-Turner 10. Wattman-Turner added four assists and four steals. Luetjen scored a career-high 29 points to lead CC to a 69-68 victory over Millsaps College in the SCAC opener for both teams on Friday night. She made a pair of free throws with 52 seconds remaining, but the Tigers needed a steal by Emily Wattman-Turner with three seconds remaining to secure the victory. Colorado College led by 15 points in the first half and by 12 after the break, but every time the Tigers appeared to take control of the game, the Majors battle back. Collier Clegg had eight points, while Wattman-Turner added seven. Luetjen led the Tigers with eight rebounds and three assists. Colorado College goes on the road for the first time next weekend when the Tigers play at Bethany Lutheran and Crown College in Minnesota.

#20 DePauw split its two games on the opening weekend of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play after topping Rhodes, 78-67, and losing at Birmingham-Southern, 74-66. In the win at Rhodes, Katie Aldrich matched a season-high with 18 points in just 16 minutes, while Emily Marshall posted her third straight double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. DePauw held a 49-29 advantage on the boards and shot 39.2 percent from the field with just 11 turnovers. The Lynx connected on 37.7 percent from the floor and had 11 turnovers. In Sunday's loss, the Tigers held a 50-45 lead in the second half before the Panthers went on a 14-2 run and took the lead for good. Brooke Osborne led the Tigers with 16 after hitting 4-of-8 three-pointers, while Jenna Fernandez and Lauren Goff each scored 11. Ellie Pearson grabbed eight rebounds as DePauw held a 42-31 edge on the boards. For the weekend, Aldrich paced the Tigers with 12.5 points per game and also averaged 5.5 rebounds. Osborne averaged 11.5 points per game, while Marshall scored 8.5 per contest and averaged 10.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor.

Hendrix kicked off its SCAC season with a two-game split this weekend. The Warriors took down Austin College, 51-46, on Friday afternoon before dropping their first game of the season, 82-93, to Colorado College on Sunday afternoon. Hendrix now holds a 4-1 overall mark and 1-1 conference record. The Warriors improved to 4-0 on Friday for the first time since 2005-06. Hendrix trailed 22-28 and shot just 26 percent in the first half against Austin, however, the Warriors exploded out of the break with a 20-8 run for the come-from-behind victory on Friday night. Sophomore guard Anna Roane opened the contest in stylish fashion with a three-pointer off an assist from junior forward Christina Byler. However, Austin held the lead for the majority of the first half. Hendrix managed to tie the game at 17 with 5:44 left in the opening 20 minutes, until the Roos ended the first half on an 11-5 run to take a 28-22 advantage into the break. Colorado pulled down 52 rebounds and had six players post double-digit performances to outlast Hendrix on Sunday afternoon. Byler posted her first double-double of the year with a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Avery Roller and Anna Roane both scored 13 points and knocked down three shots from behind the arc. Roane also dished out a game-best six assists. The Warriors shot 42 percent from the field (28-67) and 81 percent from the charity stripe (17-21). Hendrix dominated the first half and led the entire 20 minutes, including a game-high 13 points off a three-pointer from Roller with 9:51 to go before the break. Colorado managed to work its deficit down to just one point 41-42 at halftime and came out of the locker room with a 21-7 run to lead 62-49 with 14:47 remaining in regulation. The Warriors scratched their way back to lead 76-74 on a layup from sophomore guard Samantha Devlin, however, the Tigers answered with a 10-point run and ended up outscoring the Warriors 19-6 the rest of the way.

Millsaps opened conference play on a long road trip and dropped a pair of contests to Colorado College and Austin College. Freshman Deonna Walton gave the Majors their first lead of the game with 1:10 remaining in regulation Friday night, but the Tigers used a pair of late free throws to secure the 69-68 victory. Saturday night, Austin College had 10 different players find the scoring column as the 'Roos cruised to a 62-33 win over visiting Millsaps. Millsaps (0-6, 0-2 SCAC) will look for its first win of the year when they return to The Hangar Dome Saturday, Dec. 12 against Louisiana College.

Oglethorpe raised their record to 4-2 on the young season with wins over Agnes Scott and Sewanee this past week. The Petrels grabbed the victory over the Scotties by playing lockdown defense that forced the Scotties into only 23% shooting (13 for 56) for the game. Oglethorpe was also able to force 30 Agnes Scott turnovers to turn a four point halftime lead into a comfortable 12 point win. Freshman Kaci Palmore posted a team-high 12 points to go along with 9 rebounds and fellow freshman Sarah Giles scored 8 and grabbed a game-high 13 boards. Katie Weeks chipped in 11 points to round out the Petrels in double figures. Against Sewanee, the Petrels began their first conference game of the season on a 22-9 run and never trailed en route to the victory. Additionally, Oglethorpe set a school and conference record with 78 rebounds in the runaway win. The 78 rebounds smashes the previous Oglethorpe women's record of 69 set against Spelman on January 25, 2006. It also sets the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference record for rebounds in a game for both men's and women's teams, topping women's squad Hendrix's 71 (Jan. 28, 2005) and men's squad Oglethorpe's 76 (Nov. 20, 2000). Four different Petrels had double-digit rebounding efforts in the record-setting victory: Sarah Giles (16), Kaci Palmore (15), Taymah Jones (14) and Katie Weeks (11). Oglethorpe is now 4-2 on the season and will have some time off to focus for exams before their next contest versus LaGrange on Pinholster Court on December 17 at 7:00 p.m.

Rhodes dropped a pair of home SCAC contests this past weekend. On Friday the Lynx lost to 2009-10 pre-season SCAC favorite, DePauw, 78-67. The Lynx were dominated 50-29 on the glass against the Tigers. On Sunday Centre used a 26-9 run to start the second half to put away the Lynx 84-70. Senior Becky Atnip led the Lynx with 18 points. Atnip is closing in on joining the Lynx 1,000 point club. For her career Atnip has scored 935 points.

Sewanee went 1-1 on the week with a 15-point loss to SCAC foe Oglethorpe Saturday after a big 10-point win over Emory on Tuesday. Logan Miller scored 31 points in two games, including a 25-point career high performance on Saturday. She was 7-10 from behind the three-point line. Tuesday's 97 points were the most scored by a Tiger team since 2001 and Friday was the first win over Emory since 2004. Sewanee's next outing will be at Covenant Tuesday.

Southwestern split games on the week to move to 3-3 on the season. The Pirates opened up SCAC action on Thursday night at Trinity and fell 68-53. Southwestern was right in the mix through the majority of the game but a series of fouls and made free throws by the Tigers put the game away and dropped SU to 0-1. The Pirates rebounded on Sunday as they returned home for a non-conference game against the University of Dallas. SU opened up the game early and were able to sustain the lead the rest of the way, winning 66-57. The Pirates have a week and a half off before heading to Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Hoopla and will face Beloit on Friday the 18th and Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday.

#11 Trinity remained unbeaten with a pair of wins last week, including a victory in its SCAC opener against Southwestern on Thursday. To open the week, Trinity edged Otterbein 72-71 on Monday night. With just 0.4 seconds left on the clock, and the Tigers down by one, Kelsey Goodell took the inbounds pass under the basket and scored the game-winning layup as time expired. Goodell finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead all players, also adding four blocks. Against Southwestern, Trinity never trailed in the game, building a 12-point halftime lead. Southwestern was able to cut it to six a couple of times early in the second half, but could get no closer as the Tigers pulled away in the end. Ali Marzella led the way with 17 points and six steals, while Goodell had 12 points and seven rebounds. Trinity will play in the Trip Sports Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 19 and 20, facing off against Beloit College and the University of Scranton. The Tigers return home to host three other teams in the Texas Challenge December 28-29. Trinity will face Bluffton and UW-Stout, while Mary Hardin-Baylor will also play in the two-day event.