PREVIEW: Women's Basketball at Schreiner (1/27) | No. 16 Trinity (1/28)
(Schreiner University)
(Trinity University)
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OPENING TIP
The University of Dallas women's basketball team has reached the halfway point of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Play. At this juncture, Dallas sits tied for 6th in the standings with Centenary College and Colorado College at 1-6. The Crusaders have dropped their last two games and are 9-9 overall.
Dallas will play familiar opponents this weekend at Schreiner University and No. 16 Trinity University. The Crusaders tip-off at Schreiner on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and top 25 ranked Trinity the next day at 4 p.m. UD is looking to avenge a pair of setbacks to each opponent last weekend in Irving.
UD NOTES
- Michelle DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) headlines the top of several statistics for the Crusaders and top five in SCAC. DeCoud remains the conference's leading rebounder with 192 and 10.7 per contest. Her 49 blocks easily lead the SCAC, and rank her 21st in NCAA DIII.
- DeCoud has accumulated 292 points (16.2 ppg) and ranks 2nd in league for points-per-game (ppg). DeCoud is shooting 53.1 percent from the field and ranks 3rd in SCAC. Her career-high 49 blocks on the campaign also leads SCAC.
- DeCoud has reached double figures in scoring the past nine straight games.
- Seana Stoia (Tulsa, Okla.) ranks second on the team with 239 points (13.3 ppg). Stoia is shooting 36.7 percent from three-point field land and ranks 4th in SCAC.
- Holly Tonry (Seattle, Wash.) is 10 assists away from matching career-high from freshman year. The SCAC leader surpassed last season's total by four and has 99 currently. She has dished at least five in the past six outings and has achieved at least seven dimes in eight games.
- Dallas ranks 2nd in the conference for scoring defense (60.6 Avg/G) and three-point field goal percentage defense (25.4%).
- The team also ranks 2nd in rebounding margin at a +5.2-clip. Four of the past five contests UD has eclipsed 40 rebounds. In those same games the Crusaders have amassed exactly 17 assists.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
(Schreiner University)
The Mountaineers have won their last three games. This includes the most recent pair of road wins last weekend at Dallas (75-51) and at Colorado College (68-62). Schreiner is 1-3 at home this year, but are coming off a 3-1 road trip against SCAC foes that helped improve the team to 4-2 in league play. Schreiner is 6-11 overall.
Sabriyyah Fennell has reached exactly 200 points and is averaging the same amount (11.8) overall and against SCAC teams. She is also the team leader in rebounds with 95. Jordyn Villa is tied with Fennell at 71 points to lead players in scoring in conference games. Villa also has second on the team with 91 boards. Codi Simmons is second on the team with 8.9 ppg and rounds out the top three boards with 80. Christonna Jones is slightly ahead of Villa in assists with the duo dishing 35 and 34, respectively.
On Friday, the Mountaineers pulled away with a 49-30 second half to win convincingly at the Maher Center. Schreiner also shot 91.7 percent (11-12) in the 4th quarter to help garner 28 points. DeCoud paced UD with 16 points and added six rebounds and three blocks. Caitlyn Worry (Lumberton, Texas) tied a career-high four made three-pointers. This is her 3rd contest with this many successful treys on the season. Fennell led Schreiner with 17 points, Simmons added 15, and Villa and Jones each had 11.
Last season, the Crusaders were topped in Kerrville, Texas, 55-49. Stoia and DeCoud each recorded double-doubles. Stoia had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while DeCoud scored 11 and grabbed 12. Fennell produced a game-high 17 points, including a 7-for-8 game at the charity stripe.
(Trinity University)
The No. 16 Tigers remained in the same ranking this week on d3hoops.com, but did improve to 17th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll. Trinity claimed wins on the past weekend at Colorado College (75-43) and Dallas (76-61). The pair of double-digit victories moved Trinity to 16-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The Maroon and Gold are 10-0 at home this season.
Monica Hughes and Micha Weaver are nearly even in scoring at 248 (14.6 ppg) and 246 points (14.5 ppg), respectively. Mollie Hughes and Abby Holland round out a quartet of double-digit scoring averages at 12.7 and 10.8-clips. Weaver was named SCAC Player of the Week. Holland is one rebound shy of 100 at 99 and ranks atop the team leaderboard. The team is shooting 44.2 percent from the field. Steals and sharing the ball have also helped with Trinity's success as the team owns a 242-120 edge in steals and 262-236 edge in assists when compared to opponents. Holguin (39), Weaver (38), and Holland (37) create a trio of players within one of each other in swipes. Grace Horn has 57 assists, but three other players have at least 30.
The Crusaders were topped in the most recent outing against Trinity at home, 76-61. A big part in that was 32 forced turnovers on the Navy and White. Trinity came up with 23 steals, as Weaver (6), Horn (5), and Rebecca Gordon (4) came up with the majority. Weaver led the team with 23 points and Holguin added 12. Dallas' Celsi Caraway (Arlington, Texas) matched a career-high 15 points before leaving the game at the end of the third quarter due to injury. DeCoud added 13 points, and Stoia notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
In San Antonio last season, the Crusaders played No. 22 (at the time) Trinity close in a 53-48 setback. Stoia recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. DeCoud added 11 points and Worry contributed nine points all from long range. Holguin led the Tigers with 23 points and was 10-for-16 from the floor. Dallas outdid TU in rebounds by 10 (38-28).
UP NEXT
Dallas returns home after this for another SCAC weekend in the Maher Center. The Crusaders host Austin College on February 3 at 5:30 p.m. and Centenary College on Feb. 5 at 12 p.m.