17-2 Scoring Difference in 2nd Quarter helps Crusaders Sweep Centenary on Season
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's basketball team held Centenary College without a field goal for 11:24 minutes on Sunday. That span included the entire second quarter as Dallas (10-12, 2-9 SCAC) outscored the Ladies (6-16, 2-9 SCAC) 17-2 during that frame to help build a 32-13 halftime advantage. The Crusaders evened their conference record with Centenary for the final seed in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament. Dallas would qualify having swept the Ladies in head-to-head matchups this season.
NOTABLE STATISTICS
(Individual Notes)
- Michelle DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) led the team in scoring (17 points) and rebounding (16) for her 10th double-double this season. The league's leading rebounder had 10 at intermission.
- Holly Tonry (Seattle, Wash.) eclipsed double-digits just the 4th time on the campaign with a season-high 15 points. Also for the 4th time on the year, the point guard dished at least eight assists.
- UD had two players reach personal bests with Helen Onyenso (Oak Park, Ill.) rounding out the trio of double figure scorers with 10. Panda Green (Farmersville, Texas) tossed in nine for her highest total in her rookie year.
- In her 100th career game for Dallas, Seana Stoia (Tulsa, Okla.) grabbed 11 off the boards and chipped in eight points. Lindsey Gendron (Houston, Texas) was another Crusader to reach the century mark on career games played.
- Centenary was led by Jasmine Morris offensively with 16 points. Deunya Small went for a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Peyton Hurst scored nine and snatched 10 boards.
(Team Notes)
- The Crusaders outshot Centenary 35 percent to 28.1 percent. The team's combined for seven made three-pointers, but the Ladies struggled mightily at 4-for-29 (13.8%).
- UD benefitted from a 25-14 foul difference and took advantage at the free throw line making a conference-high 21 shots. Its final 11 points of the contest came from the charity stripe.
- The battle on the glass went to the home team 48-40, as well as points in the paint 34-28.
- For the 2nd straight game, the Navy and White swiped at least 10 steals with 11. Onyenso picked up a trio.
- Centenary turned the ball over two more times (19-17), but did score more points off turnovers 15-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a brief pair of ties, the home squad rattled off a 9-0 run to go ahead 13-4 just beyond halfway to play in the opening quarter. Tonry drained a three-pointer for the right corner to break the 4-all deadlock and Dallas never trailed the remainder of the contest. Tonry added a jumper on the next UD possession, Stoia hit two free throws, and Onyenso later capped the streak with a fastbreak layup on an assist from Celsi Caraway (Arlington, Texas).
The Ladies stopped the scoring stretch with a free throw by Morris at 3:47, but an inside basket by Green sent the edge to double-digits for the first time. The final six points of the quarter went to the Maroon and White as Small cut the deficit to 15-11.
Small's field goal with 1:22 left in the first was the last made one for Centenary until the second half. The Crusaders defense stymied the guests into 0-for-10 from the floor and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in the second quarter. Morris had the only two points for the Ladies, which occurred at 2:48 prior to halftime at the free throw line. Meanwhile, UD stormed ahead with 17 points including 13 combined from Onyenso (8) and Tonry (5).
The first points of the third quarter went to DeiAnna Hall 12 seconds in to halt the long spell without a basket from the field. It did not faze the Crusaders, as a trey by Caitlyn Worry (Lumberton, Texas) sparked 10 consecutive points and opened the largest lead of the game by 27 (42-15) with 7:15. At the end of the quarter, Dallas was ahead 49-29.
A string of five unanswered points started the final 10 minutes with a three by Small and two free throws by Morris. With the margin shrunk to 15, UD countered with six straight including back-to-back made inside shots by DeCoud. The latter basket by the team's leading scorer was the final field goal on the home side with 6:52 still to play.
Centenary made a final run but never moved closer than 12 points (59-47) when Savanah Doty nailed a trifecta with a little fewer than three to play.
As mentioned above, Dallas etched its next 11 points at the line and secured its 4th straight victory against the Ladies in the Maher Center.
UP NEXT
Dallas plays its final regular season road games next weekend. The SCAC road stint starts on February 10 at Southwestern University. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. The day after, UD wraps up the last road conference game at Texas Lutheran University.