Crusaders Edged by Centenary College on Tuesday
IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas women's basketball team was edged by Centenary College 64-55 on Tuesday evening. The Crusaders (2-19, 1-11 SCAC) dominated the paint as they grabbed 34 points in this area but were held to 1-17 from behind the arc. Dallas was also unable to knock down free throws down the stretch with the game close. Centenary finished 15-27 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, while UD went 7-15. The Ladies (6-15, 4-8 SCAC) had a solid outing from Savanah Doty, who had 20 points going 6-8 from three-point range, to grab the road win.
The first quarter was tight all the way. Centenary grabbed the first two buckets of the game, but Faith Starnes (Bryan, Texas) nailed a three-pointer to get Dallas on the board. Vanessa Diaz (San Antonio, Texas) then gave UD its first lead with a layup at the 6:57 mark. UD got a free throw, but Ethany Cosby made a lay-in to tie it up at six. The Ladies went up by a basket with three minutes to go, as the Crusaders stayed on their heels with a jump shot by Diaz on the following possession. Haylee Washington took the Ladies to the second quarter up by three after her made jump shot.
Jules Oliveti (Southlake, Texas) and Diaz got Dallas points to start the second quarter. With just one minute into the frame CC found a 6-0 run capped off by a Deunya Small layup to go up 24-16. Starnes hit her field goal after that run, but Doty started to heat up from deep range as she hit consecutive treys to put the Ladies up 30-18. Dallas finished the second period strong finishing on a 7-2 run as Oliveti notched four points.
CC started the third period up 32-25. The Ladies went on an 8-2 run to open the frame. Gracie Williams (Midwest City, Okla.) ended that long stretch with a layup on the other end. Haylee Washington eventually put the Ladies up by nine (44-35) at the 2:14 mark. Starnes and Williams put five-straight Dallas points on the board to get UD back within four. Doty hit another three-pointer to send CC to the fourth frame up 47-40. Both teams had 15 points in the quarter.
Halfway through the last period only six combined points were scored but UD inched its way closer (49-44). Starnes then got fouled and made both of her foul shots to get Dallas within three. With four minutes to go Dallas was still within arm's reach only down 51-47. But CC found another big run outscoring Dallas 11-4 with just 30 seconds remaining. Oliveti grabbed four points late, but CC eventually left Irving with the win.
Starnes led Dallas with 16 points along with seven rebounds. Oliveti followed closely behind notching 14 points and 14 rebounds to complete the double-double. Williams also reached double-digit points adding 13. Olivia Severson (La Crosse, Wis.) helped the team as she came down with eight boards and dished out three assists. Dallas won the rebound battle by a narrow margin 40-38.
Following Doty's performance, Washington grabbed 16 points, while Jasmine Morris added 11. Small led the Ladies with 13 boards.
Both teams scored 10 points off of turnovers in the game.
UP NEXT
Dallas will host Texas Lutheran University on Friday (Feb. 8). First tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.