SUWANEE, Ga. - Sewanee broke two NCAA records, three school records while tying for the most points in a single game in SCAC history in the Purple Tigers 125-58 victory over Judson Saturday afternoon. Through the first week of the season SCAC schools have complied a 15-14 record against non-conference opponents.

- AROUND THE SCAC -

Austin College got the 2011-12 season off to a tough start, going 0-3 against UT-Tyler, No. 23-ranked Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons over the weekend. The ‘Roos fell 56-48 to UTT, 68-61 to Howard Payne and 82-63 to HSU to close out the week. Christina Kime scored 13 points and added three assists in the loss to UT-Tyler and Angeleena Young knocked down three treys to finish with 10 points, and against HPU the ‘Roos got a 16 point, 11 rebound effort from Brooke Melton and a 16 point, 10 rebound performance by Allison Taylor but were unable to upset the Yellow Jackets. Shayna Clardy added 12 points in the loss. The ‘Roos finished out the week against Hardin-Simmons on Saturday, but 24 turnovers proved too much to overcome in the loss. Kime had career bests of 19 points and nine assists in the game and Melton added 13 points and eight rebounds. Clardy chipped in with 11 points. The ‘Roos will be looking to get their first win of the season tomorrow when they travel to take on UT-Dallas.

Birmingham-Southern went 2-1 to open the season this week, all at home, defeating Rust College 67-55 on Tuesday and Judson College 97-40 on Friday. BSC suffered its first loss on Saturday in a close, hard-fought contest against LeTourneau University, losing 67-64. Sophomore Stephanie Stanley led the Panthers against Rust with 15 points, and junior Melanie Short led the team against both Judson and LeTourneau, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds on Friday, and recording 18 points against LeTourneau. The Panthers are on the road for the next three games, including trips to take on Berry and Emory this upcoming week.

Centre played three games this week and won all three of them. The season opener was Tuesday night against Maryville, a team that went 21-5 a year ago and returned four starters. Behind a balanced scoring attack, led by Maggie Prewitt’s 24 points, the Colonels jumped to a double digit lead late in the first half and never looked back, winning by a score of 80-60. On Friday, in game 1 of the Country Hearth Inn/Famous Recipe Classic, Centre pulled away from Berry in the second half after a close first half, winning 87-74. Four Colonels scored in double figures for the game. The final game of the Country Hearth Inn/Famous Recipe Classic was a decisive victory for the Colonels as they defeated Rose-Hulman 84-44 on the strength of 12 three-pointers. Once again four Centre players scored in double figures.

Colorado College team came from behind in all three games this past week, but was unable to hold onto a win to open the season 0-3. The Tigers dropped games to Johnson and Wales University, 77-74, Elmhurst College, 61-53 and Augustana College, 60-56. CC was plagued by foul troubles during the week, fouling its opponents 20 more times to give up 21 extra points. Senior Becky Luetjen led the Tigers averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3.3 steals over three games. With Luetjen’s 30 rebounds, she moved up three spots to rank ninth all-time with 609 career rebounds. Luetjen also moved up two spots with her 10 steals to rank seventh with 145 career steals. Senior Jordy Stephenson averaged 13 points and a team-high 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game last week. Senior Marissa Gradoz shot a team-high .529 field-goal percentage over three games on 9-of-17 shooting.

Dallas (0-1) tipped-off their 2011-12 season on Tuesday at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. It was a close game throughout with Schreiner. Dallas trailed by three at halftime, and had their chances to put the game on ice in the second-half, but the two teams needed more than 40 minutes to decide the season-opener. The Lady Crusaders were outscored 18-13 in the overtime period, and fell 77-72 to the Lady Mountaineers. Dallas has one game this week, a 1 p.m. tilt in Marshall, Texas, against East Texas Baptist University.

Hendrix started the 2011-12 season with a 1-2 record. On Tuesday at Ozarks (Ark.), Hendrix overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to tie the game and force overtime, but the Lady Eagles pulled out a 71-70 victory in the extra period. Senior guard Katy Ashley-Pauley scored a career-high 18 points. Senior center Caty Hensy had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Sophomore Jamie Tate also had a double-double with 10 points and 14 boards. On Friday, the Warriors tied a school record with 13 three-pointers, en route to an 80-70 win over Greenville to open the Cliff Garrison Classic. Senior guard Avery Roller buried five shots from behind the arc to score a career-best 19 points. Hensy added 13 points and eight rebounds and senior guard Anna Roane had 13 points and four assists. In a 70-55 loss on Saturday, Hendrix committed 27 turnovers and Westminster (Mo.) took advantage, by scoring 33 points off the miscues. Roller paced the Warriors again, scoring 12 points with four three-pointers. Tate came off the bench to score 11 points and grab nine boards.

Millsaps tipped things off Friday evening at The Hangar Dome against NAIA foe Blue Mountain College. Led by freshman Velvet Johnson's 26 points along with a 20 point, seven assist night from Shatoya White, the Majors cruised to a 99-85 victory over the Toppers in the first game of the Sleep Inn Downtown Jackson Tip Off Tournament. Five Majors finished with double digit points. Joining Johnson and White were freshmen Natasha Mbenza with 11 points, Brittnei Earl with 10 points, and Perez with 10 points. Nine different Majors scored on the first game of the season. As a team, Millsaps shot a scorching 54% from the field. The Majors were without a major role on their team as senior Janice Okeke, last year's conference leader in rebounds, was out with a sprained wrist. She is expected to return for the first conference weekend in December. Junior Shante Morton led the Majors defensively with 12 rebounds. A day after one of the best offensive performances in many years for the Millsaps Women's Basketball Team, the Majors could not buy a basket on this day as they fell to the Louisiana College Wildcats in the Championship Game. Millsaps will return to action next Sunday after Thanksgiving break as they will take on Huntingdon College at 3 p.m.

Oglethorpe began their season by going 2-1 this past week in topping Emory (W, 80-79) and Agnes Scott (W, 61-41 ) and losing at Maryville (L, 61-50). Against Emory, the two teams traded blows in the early stages of the game with the Eagles inching out to a 15-10 advantage at the 14:10 mark. The Petrels then used an 11-0 spurt to jump ahead 21-15 with 9:05 to play in the half. The run was punctuated by a Sarah Jones three-pointer and featured five different players converting baskets for the Petrels. The Eagles managed to regain their footing and the score was 33-29 Oglethorpe in the lead heading into halftime. Again, the teams went up and down in the early stages of the second stanza with Emory managing to tie the score on six separate occasions in the first eight minutes of the half. Then it looked as though Emory might take control of the game after a spurt that produced a 60-54 lead with 9:07 to play. The Petrels, however, refused to wilt, scratching and clawing their way back into the contest. Jones connected on one of her 7 three-pointers on the night and Mareva Bone rattled off 7 straight points of her own to thrust Oglethorpe back into a 64-60 lead they would never relinquish. The Eagles managed to tie the score at 72 apiece with 2:12 to play following a three-ball from the corner from Becca Feldman. Showing the poise of a veteran team, the Petrels nailed all 8 of their free throw attempts, including four straight from junior Riley Cerone, in the final 90 seconds to hold off the Eagles and earn the win to delight the home court crowd. Against Agnes Scott, Oglethorpe inched out to an early lead but the Scotties hung around, only trailing the Petrels by a scant point at 16-15 with 7:18 to play in the first half. From there, however, Oglethorpe went on a torrid stretch to open up some breathing room and effectively put the game away. The 20-5 run to close the half began with Oglethorpe scoring on 5 straight possessions, with four of the baskets coming courtesy of a Petrel assist. Katie Weeks drilled a jumper to begin the decisive stretch and Ky'Laine Rogers followed with an easy bucket. Riley Cerone then converted a lay-up and drilled a three-pointer on consecutive trips before Aisha Atwater closed the unanswered run with a layup of her own. At that point the score was suddenly 27-15 and the rout was officially on. Oglethorpe would head into the locker room leading 36-20. The 20-5 run to finish out the first stanza actually ballooned to a 27-5 burst after Oglethorpe tallied the first seven points of the second half. With a 25 point lead and the home crowd enjoying every minute of it, head coach Aaron Nester was able to substitute freely down the stretch as no Petrel logged more than 24 minutes of game action. At Maryville, The Petrels hung around the Scots and only trailed by three at the break, but could not mount a second half rally en route to their first loss of the 2011-12 season. Both teams shot an identical 8-of-23 (38%) from the field in the first half and Maryville headed into halftime holding a 24-21 advantage. The place Oglethorpe struggled on the night was the rebounding department, where the Scots held an overwhelming 44-19 advantage, including snaring 16 offensive boards. Mareva Bone led Oglethorpe with 10 points on the night while Sarah Giles added 6 points, 7 rebounds and two blocks in the loss. The Petrels are back in action next Saturday when they host Piedmont on Pinholster Court at 4:00 p.m.

Senior Sharwil Bell scored a game high 27 points, leading Rhodes to a 72-66 win over Greenville College in the second round of the Cliff Garrison Classic, on Saturday, November 19th in Conway, AR.  The Lynx took advantage of 22 offensive rebounds as they held off a late Greenville rally for the win. Freshman guard Natalie Goodrum came off the bench to spark the Lynx with 6 points and 6 rebounds. Goodrum had a team high 5 offensive rebounds. Junior guard Sarah Womack added 12 points and sophomore center Amy Handelman added 7 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman guard Sarah Johnson scored 7 points and dished out a game high 5 assists.  Rhodes won despite shooting only 30.4% from the field. Rhodes improved to 1-1 on the season after an opening game 78-69 loss to Westminster (MO). The defending SLIAC champions rallied from a 10 point second halftime deficit to beat Rhodes for the second consecutive season.  The Lynx will host Mississippi College in their home opener on Tuesday, November 22nd, at 7:00 pm in Mallory Gymnasium.

In the opening week of the season, the Sewanee women’s basketball finished 2-1 in its first three games. The Tigers picked up a pair of wins over Judson College while falling to LeTourneau University. The biggest highlight of the week came in Sewanee’s 125-58 win over Judson, Saturday. The Tigers hit a NCAA record 24 three-point field goals. In the game, Sewanee broke two NCAA records, three school records while tying for the most points in a single game in SCAC history. The Tigers' 24 three-point field goals broke the previous mark by two baskets. Before Saturday, Centenary (NJ) held the record after they defeated Trinity (DC) on January 22, 2009. Combined with Judson's seven makes, both teams now hold the NCAA single-game record for most made three point fields goals in a game (31). The Tigers and Eagles broke the previous record held by Ill. Wesleyan and Fontbonne. Wesleyan and Fontbonne combined for 27 made three's on December 4, 2007. Additionally, Sewanee broke the school record for most points in a single game while tying the SCAC record. Furthermore, Sewanee's70-second half points were only eight off the NCAA single-half record held by Muhlenburg back on December 8, 2004.

As the season gets underway the Southwestern Pirates women's basketball team has picked up right where they left off last season, winning their first two games of the year. Tuesday SU traveled to Texas Lutheran and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 49-27 en route to a 74-52 win. The Pirates remained on the road Saturday, facing Schreiner University on Saturday afternoon in Kerrville. SU's defense kept the Pirates above the Mountaineers as they forced 24 turnovers and recorded 10 steals in the close victory. Southwestern went 8-8 from the free throw line in the final three minutes to seal the 70-67 win. SU brings their perfect record home for the first time this season as they face Mary Hardin Baylor on Tuesday night at 5:30 pm.

Trinity opened the season by splitting its two games at the Redlands Tip-Off Classic over the weekend, losing to Chapman in the season opener, but bouncing back with a win over hosting Redlands the next evening. Nicolette Halbleib was selected for the All-Tournament Team for Trinity, thanks in large part to her breakout performance in Saturday’s 57-51 win over Redlands. Halbleib led Trinity in both scoring and rebounding for the game, collecting nine rebounds to go with her 23 points. The loss in the season opener was Trinity’s first since the 2006-07 season when the Tigers fell to Howard Payne. Trinity will play once more on the road against Occidental on Monday night, then will open up its home schedule with a Thanksgiving Weekend tournament. The Tigers face Richard Stockton and St. Thomas on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

To view the entire SCAC Hoops Weekly for week one, click here.