The Austin College women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win and closed out the regular season on a high note, cruising past visiting Centenary College 90-49 on Friday night in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos head into the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament with an overall record of 14-10 and a conference mark of 9-5.
Austin College jumped out to a 9-2 lead early following a Brittany Stepanski basket, but Centenary fought back to pull within one at 11-10, and after the 'Roos pushed it to a 15-10 game the Ladies grabbed their first and only lead of the game at 16-15 on a pair of free throws by Briana Edwards with 12:08 left in the opening half.
Kendall Heitmeier scored 10 straight for Austin College and Christina Kime buried a three, and Erin Riley and Paige Picciotti also combined for eight as the 'Roos exploded for a 23-1 run to grab a 38-17 lead with 3:45 left in the first half. An Edwards bucket with 32 seconds left pulled the Ladies to within 43-27 at halftime.
Austin College got back to work early in the second half, scoring the first six points to make it a 49-27 game, and threes from Kime and Jenna Longo helped push it to a 30 point margin at 61-31 with 15:04 left to play. The margin never dipped below 27 the rest of the way, as Austin College outscored the Ladies 47-22 in the second half.
Kime finished with 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting, hitting both of her threes and 7-of-8 free throws, and handed out three assists. Heitmeier scored 17 and grabbed five rebounds, and Riley finished with 11 and six boards. In all, 12 different 'Roos scored and the team shot 50.7% from the field, including 57.6% in the second half.
Edwards led the Ladies with 18 points and 18 rebounds, and Rhonda Martin chipped in 13 points. Rebecca Thompson added 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
About Austin College
Austin College is a leading national independent residential liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.