Women's Basketball claim Narrow Win over Hendrix
(Photo Courtesy of anthonymazur@amnewsnet.com)
IRVING, Texas – A strong finish in the fourth quarter allowed the University of Dallas women's basketball team to earn a 57-53 victory on Tuesday evening over Hendrix College. The Crusaders edged their opponent in every period except the third.
In a game with nine lead changes, each squad was up by as many as seven. The Warriors were up that amount in the fourth, but a 9-0 run swung the momentum for UD. A big three-pointer by Olivia Severson (La Crosse, Wis.) made it a four-point lead with barely over a minute remaining. Hendrix cut it in half, but two free throws late sealed the final.
Dallas improved to 5-5 and snapped a three-game slide including twice over the weekend. The Warriors saw a six-game winning streak end, as they fell to 7-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Panda Green (Farmersville, Texas) picked up from Sunday's game where she made five treys, by drilling her lone attempt to start the Crusaders scoring. Dallas kept up early as the teams exchanged leads in the first five minutes. Madilyne Borjon (San Antonio, Texas) tied the game at eight by draining a trifecta, and then Celsi Caraway (Arlington, Texas) followed a Hendrix turnover by sinking the team's third that frame to go up 11-8. Dallas led from that three-minute juncture through the horn. 10 of UD's points in the first were off turnovers as well. Hendrix had 20 overall, with 10 per half.
A three by Hendrix's Leah Boehl flipped the advantage 15-14 at the start of the second quarter. There were a pair of ties that came next, and then Dallas moved out by four (22-18) on a Caraway three-pointer with five minutes left. Leah Smith nipped the margin to a single-digit on a trey of her own in the last 37 seconds, but Severson tossed a layup in the closing ticks to give the Crusaders a 26-23 edge at halftime.
The home team surged out to its greatest lead of the night in the third quarter (34-27) by scoring eight-of-10, which included six in a row. A three by Borjon capped the surge, as Dallas made six three-point field goals overall.
The Warriors responded with a 13-4 run for their best stretch of the contest. Alexis Baker hammered a go-ahead three in the last five seconds to cap the surge and make it a 40-38 lead for her team. Hendrix posted a 17-12 scoring edge overall that frame, with 10 points coming off the bench.
Dallas trailed by its greatest deficit two minutes into the last quarter, 46-39. Michelle, DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) made a jumper and went perfect at the free throw line to start a 9-0 scoring span. Caraway's layup at 4:45 minutes erased the gap and put UD on top 47-46. Green's pair of free throws capped the streak of points.
Heather Prowse tied the game at 51 with 2:45 after an old fashioned three-point play was completed at the line. A couple seconds later, Caraway split at the line on Dallas' end to go up one. DeCoud swatted a block that prevented the go-ahead attempt for Hendrix, and then Severson lined up a three to push the Crusaders edge back to their largest margin since the third.
Madison Martin connected on a jumper with 46 seconds to shrink the score to 55-53. Dallas missed the next jumper but the shortest player on the floor, Green, secured the offensive rebound. After the quick timeout, DeCoud would be fouled and made it a four-point lead again. With eight seconds remaining, Hendrix was called for a five-second violation. The road squad snatched a steal, but only enough time remained for a desperation three.
Each team shot 32 percent from the floor. Dallas went to the line more, as it hit 13-of-19 compared to 6-of-7 for the Warriors. Overall the Crusaders scored an 18-10 advantage on points off turnovers. Dallas edged its opponent 43-39 on rebounds. Hendrix did tally six more points in the paint, 24-18.
DeCoud notched her fourth double-double with Dallas this season, as she scored 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. The senior forward shot six-for-seven at the charity stripe. Caraway led all players with 16 points. Helen Onyenso (Oak Park, Ill.) grabbed 10 boards to tie a team-most. Severson pulled down six.
A trio of Hendrix players registered 12 points each, with Martin garnering a double-double thanks to 12 rebounds. Prowse and Smith were the other pair in the double figure scoring unit. Prowse contributed eight rebounds.
TIP-INS
DeCoud managed two big blocks in the fourth. Her 1st with 7:04 left counted as her 109th for her career. That broke the individual career record number for the program, which she tied with Joirdan Cole on Saturday against Colorado College.
Dallas split the season series with the Warriors, and avenged a 28-point setback at Conway in November. The win also snapped a seven-game slide in head-to-head meetings dating back to UD's last win over Hendrix on February 3rd, 2012. That final was 71-60 in overtime on the road.
The Crusaders last edged Hendrix at the Maher Center January 2nd, 2011. Two of the past four setbacks in Irving since then had an extra period.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Congrats DeCoud on surpassing the @dallaswbb Blocks record tonight! Her pair broke a tie with previous holder, Joirdan Cole! #GoUD #UDWBB #d3h pic.twitter.com/3gmPKiNL7r
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) December 20, 2017
UP NEXT
Dallas enjoys the holiday break before wrapping up a long home stretch on December 31st. The Crusaders tip-off with Sul Ross State University at 2 p.m.