SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Janie Boyd netted 20 points and
Olivia Falvey added 14, but Centre College posted 51 points in the second half against a depleted Sewanee roster, running away from the Tigers, 87-61, in women's basketball action here Saturday in the conference opener for both teams at Juhan Gymnasium.
The Tigers (7-5, 0-1 SAA) have just 10 healthy players and several of those were battling flu-like symptoms (as well as the coaching staff) in Saturday's contest. Sewanee trailed just 36-31 at the half before the Colonels (11-1, 1-0) shot 23-for-39 (59 percent) from the field in the final two periods, turning 12 Sewanee turnovers into 15 points.
Boyd made a layup to start the second half and
Hannah Cleveland added two field goals for a 43-37 deficit with six minutes to play in the third period. Lily Reid's layup started a 13-0 spurt for the Colonels, with Lola Fouts contributing a running jumper in the lane and a 3-pointer, pushing the Centre advantage to 54-37 with four minutes to play in the quarter.
Falvey's basket ended the run and
Micha Lovelace posted an old-fashioned 3-point play, but Ryleigh Campbell netted a 3-pointer for the Colonels. Boyd added a basket and Cleveland connected on two free throws, cutting the deficit to 11, but that was as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the way.
Reid led all scorers with 21 points while adding six rebounds and seven assists. Trinity Armour collected 12 points off the bench and KaNiah Edelen added 10. Four other Centre players finished with eight points.
Centre netted the first six points of the game in less than two minutes, all after offensive rebounds, before
Brianna Keating-Rendon made a 3-pointer from the left corner to get the Tigers on the board. Baskets by Lindsay Jessie and Reid pushed the Colonels lead to seven.
Boyd and Falvey collected consecutive field goals for Sewanee midway through the period before an 8-0 spurt by Centre. Armour scored underneath, Reid made a triple and Edelen completed an old-fashioned 3-point play for a 21-9 advantage for the visitors. The Tigers netted just one point over the final three minutes of the quarter.
Sewanee put together an 8-2 run early in the second period behind buckets from Cleveland and Boyd and a four-point play from Falvey, who made a 3-pointer plus the foul, cutting the deficit to five. Claire Russell answered with a triple for Centre, but Falvey and Boyd both scored again and the Tigers trailed 28-24 midway through the quarter.
Grace Gavin found the range from behind the arc and
Adison Howard's layup made it a three-point game with three minutes remaining before the half. Armour netted two baskets for the Colonels before Boyd added another layup and Centre took a 36-31 edge to intermission.
Sewanee hosts Rhodes College next Friday at 6 p.m., the fourth of five straight home games for the Tiger women.
