Wildcats down UD Women's Basketball on Friday in SCAC Road Contest
DENVER, Colo. – The University of Dallas women's basketball team was defeated 75-54 on Friday night at Johnson & Wales University-Denver. The Crusaders (3-6, 1-2 SCAC) used a nine-point advantage in the second half with their highest scoring period of 20 points to nip an early deficit and lead 32-30 at halftime. The Wildcats (2-8, 2-3 SCAC) won their second straight game overall and over a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) opponent, with a huge second half.
JWU started out with a 5-0 lead, as Katey Guzman tallied two field goals with the second being from three-point territory. Guzman finished with 26 points and was right behind scoring leader Brianna Bailey's 27. Bailey had a three of her own to answer the first Dallas points of the night on a trey from Madi Horne (Paradise, Texas).
Horne scored UD's opening five points and classmate Beyonce Perry (Lake Jackson, Texas) tied the game at eight with a trey at 7:33 left in the first. The freshman guard landed another three for the visitor's first lead of the game that stretched to 12-8 at the 6:21 mark. The Wildcats scored the final 11 points of the quarter, using a go-ahead three by Avionne Gomez to change the lead.
The Crusaders were cold over the next seven minutes including the first minute in the second period, as Horne broke the drought on a layup at 9:22 for the first points. Despite outscoring the Wildcats by nine in the period, the only time Dallas led was with two minutes until intermission on a layup by Jules Oliveti (Southlake, Texas) that made it 28-27. JWU's Guzman answered with a trifecta on the next possession, but Panda Houseworth (Farmersville, Texas) hit a free throw and three-pointer at the expiring game clock to push the Crusaders in front. The senior guard recorded all seven points from the contest in the second quarter.
The midway point of the third quarter saw the Wildcats turn around a tight game and push the margin to seven (43-36) thanks to a 13-4 run. Ultimately, JWU scored 19 points again like the first quarter advantage, but also limited the Crusaders to seven points. After entering the last 10 minutes down 10, the Crusaders did slice the gap to 49-41 a little over two minutes in. after another opposing surge to a big gap, UD fought to within 14 with 2:22 left, but a Bailey trey ended any late chance runs to finish the home triumph for JWU.
Dallas was outshot 44.4 percent to 37 percent by the Wildcats overall. JWU did shot an impressive 42.1 percent (16-38) from downtown with 12 combined in the second half. Seven were in that fourth quarter. Bailey and Guzman each made 10 field goals and six three-point field goals for their big point totals. Guzman hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Crusaders held a 35-33 edge on the glass, while both teams had 10 offensive rebounds. Dallas was the victim of 22 turnovers and came up with 14. JWU swiped 15 steals. UD also was outdone by 11 on assists (21-10) and points off turnovers (17-10). UD did score two more times in the paint (18-16). The team also had more free throw chances with a 13-18 effort compared to JWU being perfect but with only three shots.
Horne was the team leader in scoring with 14 points. Perry followed with 12 points, all coming from her four trifectas. Vanessa Diaz had a team-high eight rebounds and tied her season-best for the second time in league play. Oliveti brought down seven boards and Perry notched five to tie a season-best. Diaz and Gracie Williams (Midwest City, Okla.) each had three assists.
UP NEXT
Dallas plays at Colorado College tomorrow evening around 6 p.m. (MST) following the men's basketball tilt.