SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Hannah Cleveland posted 10 points and 13 rebounds,
Faith Humphrey added 14 points and Sewanee used a 15-1 run in the second half to take the lead and hold off Centre College in a 58-52 victory in women's basketball action Wednesday in Danville, Ky.
The Tigers (9-9, 2-3 SAA) won for the second straight outing in Danville after claiming a victory to end the regular season in 2023-24.
Sewanee trailed by 13 early in the second quarter before posting a 13-2 spurt, pulling within 28-26 at the half. The Colonels held a 42-36 advantage late in the third period but
Cydney Wright scored on a lefthanded layup just before the buzzer to end the quarter.
That basket started a 15-1 run, with
Zoe Sedo hitting a corner 3-pointer and Wright's field goal at 8:14 giving Sewanee its first lead since 4-2.
Olivia Falvey collected a layup and
Brianna Keating-Rendon nailed a three from the top of the key, extending the advantage to 48-42.
Lindsay Jessie made one free throw for Centre before Falvey added another triple for a 51-43 lead with just under five minutes to play. KaNiah Edelen and Jessie each made layups, making it a four-point game, but Humphrey's two foul shots with 1:56 remaining pushed the edge back to six.
The Colonels were pressing and scrambling and got a field goal by Anna Thomas, but Sedo rushed the ball up the floor and passed to Cleveland for a layup for a six-point lead with just under a minute to play.
Lilly Reid's basket plus the foul and free throw cut the Sewanee advantage to three with 32.3 seconds on the clock and Cleveland made 1-of-2 free throws with 30.5 seconds left for a 56-52 lead. Edelen and Rucker missed shots underneath and Falvey came up with the rebound. After a timeout Cleveland missed two foul shots with 16.7 seconds remaining.
Thomas' 3-pointer was blocked by Humphrey and the rebound went off Thomas and out of bounds. Cleveland was fouled one more time with 3.4 seconds on the clock and she made both for the final margin.
Falvey collected 14 points and Wright added 10 before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Reid posted 14 points and Rucker netted 13.
The Tigers netted the first four points of the game with two free throws by Wright and a layup from Falvey. One free throw and a basket in the lane from Cleveland gave Sewanee a 7-5 edge. The Colonels scored the next 10 points, including two field goals and two foul shots by Reid.
Wright's layup ended a four-minute scoring drought but Centre took a 15-9 advantage at the end of one period. The Tigers made just 3-of-11 field goals with eight turnovers in the quarter.
The Colonels netted the first seven points of the second period, including an old-fashioned 3-point play by Reid and field goals from Arin Nipp and Reid for a 22-9 lead. Centre went ice cold most of the rest of the quarter and Sewanee took advantage, putting together a 13-2 spurt over the next seven minutes.
Humphrey's 3-pointer started the run and Keating-Rendon made a three after a basket by Cleveland. Humphrey added two more layups, pulling the Tigers within 24-22 with 90 seconds left in the half.
Rucker and Ryleigh Campbell each scored for the Colonels in the final minute of the period, but Falvey and Wright answered with baskets for the Tigers and Centre led just 28-26 at intermission. Sewanee made 7-of-13 from the field in the second quarter while the Colonels made 6-of-20, with three of those makes in the last two minutes.
Reid led all scorers with 11 points while Humphrey collected seven points and Wright posted six for the Tigers. Centre collected 14 points off 14 Sewanee turnovers in the first half.
Sewanee returns home this Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest against Millsaps at Juhan Gymnasium.
