Crusaders come up Short in 48-44 Final on Friday to Johnson & Wales University-Denver
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's basketball team dropped a tight contest on Friday night to Johnson & Wales University, 48-44, at the Maher Center. The Crusaders (3-15, 1-10 SCAC) jumped a 13-6 lead in the first half and would be ahead by five (21-16) at intermission. The Wildcats (4-13, 4-8 SCAC) gained their first lead of the night in the third quarter, and would score 18 points for the most in a quarter in the final 10 minutes to secure the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) victory and season series sweep.
Dallas scored the first seven points of the game to take the early advantage. Madi Horne (Paradise, Texas) nailed a three-pointer two minutes into play. Julies Oliveti (Southlake, Texas) had a jumper and Horne added a pair of free throws to cap the spurt. Horne and Oliveti combined for 17 of UD's 21 first half points with nine and eight, respectively.
The Wildcats got on the board at 5:43 and would cut the score to one with six straight points. Horne and Oliveti answered with the final six points from 4:14 to 2:30 to complete the first quarter scoring.
Dallas' largest lead of the game was nine early in the second quarter. Up 17-10 with under four minutes to go in the second quarter, JWU's Sariah Serrano followed Katey Guzman's one-of-two free throws with a jump shot to bring the gap to four. Beyonce Perry (Lake Jackson, Texas) answered with a jump shot, and then Guzman had another two free throws to get the score back to four. Oliveti had a jump shot to wrap up the first half scoring with a minute and a half before the break.
The guests came out with the first six points in three minutes to go up for the first time in the game. Rhyan Colbert (McKinney, Texas) exchanged the lead back immediately, but the Wildcats notched four points to go up by three. After a bit of a drought, the Crusaders battled back to tie the score on two occasions, including a field goal by Perry with 41 seconds. After a miss by JWU, Panda Houseworth (Farmersville, Texas) hit the first of two free throws to lift Dallas up 31-30 through three.
The Wildcats went up five through the midway point of the remaining stanza. Perry used a couple baskets in the later stages to keep the game at one possession. Her latest was a layup at 2:20 to make it 42-39. After a Guzman jump shot put the lead back to five, Gracie Williams (Midwest City, Okla.) hammered a crucial triple with a minute to go. Dallas only had two three-pointers in the game. Guzman split at the line with 36 seconds and Dallas missed on a three-attempt. Guzman sank the next two free throws with 26 seconds to stretch the margin. Horne finished a missed layup with a good tip-in in the final 17 seconds, but Serrano put in a free throw to seal the final score.
Horne led a trio of Crusaders in double-digits with 11 points. She added five rebounds and three steals. Oliveti chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. Perry finished the group of double-digit scorers up with 10, including six in the last quarter.
Dallas shot 34.5 percent from the field and were outrebounded by three (38-35). The home team did garner two more assists (11-9) and five more points off turnovers (17-12). Both sides had 21 miscues.
The Wildcats were led by Guzman with 15 points, while Brianna Bailey had 13. Kaleya Corke went 3-5 from downtown for most of her 11 points. Avionne Gomez pulled in 10 boards. Guzman swiped five of JWU's nine steals. The guests were 15-50 (30 percent) from the field, hit all five treys in the second half, and put in 13-20 at the charity stripe. The team had a 10-4 edge in second chance points.
UP NEXT
Dallas hosts Colorado College tomorrow with a tip-off around 6 p.m. after the men's game.