Crusaders drop Conference Opener on Friday
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's basketball team was defeated 67-51 by University of St. Thomas (TX) at the Maher Center in the team's first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) game of the season on Friday. The Crusaders (2-5, 0-1 SCAC) endured a tough second quarter and were victims of 25-first half turnovers. However, they remained down just 11 at the break and would compete with a tough Celts (6-2, 1-0) team that had the leader in the SCAC for scoring average and rebounding average in Sheridan Hopkins.
It took nearly two and a half minutes for either team to break into the scoring column as the Celts grabbed a 2-0 lead by Aerial Starks. Beyonce Perry (Lake Jackson, Texas) shot .50 percent from the field with a 4-for-8 effort in the opening 10 minutes. A pair of trifectas were included in that stretch, as her first gave UD its lone lead of the night at 5-2 with just over halfway gone in the period. A layup by Bresha Orange on the next possession changed the lead the rest of the way.
Perry chimed in all of Dallas' 10 points that quarter and despite a rocky time possessing the ball, the Crusaders only trailed four (14-10). In the second quarter, St. Thomas went on a 7-0 run through three and a half minutes and a jump shot by Jules Oliveti (Southlake, Texas) ended the scoring drought and sliced the margin beneath. Dallas was outscored by seven (14-7) in the second quarter and were down 28-17 at halftime.
A three by Perry slashed into the deficit by reducing the difference by eight to start the third quarter. The Celts answered with six points on a pair of three-point plays that included a three by Bresha Orang and three-point play by Aerial Starks. Dallas was outscored by five combined points in the second half for both second-half periods. After an abundance of turnovers for both sides, UD would give away 34 and St. Thomas had 25. Dallas did not commit one in the third quarter though.
Despite a career-high performance by Perry's 23 points and strong efforts by the Crusaders defense, St. Thomas was able to overmatch the opposition.
Oliveti was the other player in double figures of scoring with 10 points and notching seven rebounds. Vanessa Diaz added nine points, all coming in the second half.
The Celts outrebounded UD 41-29 overall and had a 17-6 advantage on offensive boards. This led to a nearly identical difference of 17-5 in second chance points favoring St. Thomas. UD was also edged in points in the paint (26-14) and on fastbreak points (16-8).
Hopkins led the Celts with 18 points and eight rebounds. Starks had 13 points and Anga Olivia put in 11 points from the bench with a game-high nine rebounds. Micayla Hamilton dished four assists and Yazmine Kellough gave three.
UP NEXT
Dallas hosts Centenary College at 4 p.m. on Saturday.