WBB: Southern Athletic Association

[pbrooks3]

Two teams in Atlanta tonight brought the chill indoors as Centre and Oglethorpe combined to shoot 26% with Centre gaining the advantage at the foul line to win 46-40.  For Centre, Baechle, Benham and Hartlage were the big scorers with 12, 7 and 7 respectively.  Baechle notched her 13th double-double as she had 18 rebounds.  Benham grabbed 12 boards.  Gabby Cole led Oglethorpe with 10.  Centre goes to 9-10 overall; 7-2 in conference play.  Next up for the Colonels is Berry on Sunday.

[pbrooks3]

Again got to witness Centre in action live on Sunday @ Berry College.  The Colonels came out blazing from the start and played an outstanding game winning by 22 after leading at the half 46-25.  Centre shot 60% in the opening 20 minutes and played stellar defense against the Vikings throughout the game, holding Berry to 24% shooting.  Again Centre dominated inside by outrebounding Berry 48-36 with Paige Baechle recording her 14th consecutive double-double- 22 points and 14 rebounds.  Paige also dished out 5 nifty assists and recorded 2 steals.  Other key contributors for the Colonels were Jenna Mire with 8 boards and 7 points, Maggie Hartlage with 11 points and Chelsea Benham who had 9 points and 9 rebounds.  Centre had 11 ladies play and 10 scored.  Berry was led by their leading scorer, Chanlir Segarra who tossed in 20 while Tara Mullinax tallied 10.  Centre is now 8-2 in conference play which puts them 1 game behind co-leaders Rhodes and Millsaps.  Centre will get a homecourt rematch this coming weekend against Millsaps.

[pbrooks3]

Tonight Birmingham Southern almost turned the tables on the Lady Colonels in Danville after Centre had beaten BSU in Birmingham on a late free throw to win in January. This time the Panthers came up short with Chelsea Benham draining a late free throw to force OT and Centre went on to win 75-69. Some basketball aficionados might say Centre is pointing towards their Sunday afternoon tilt against Millsaps. Honestly though Centre struggles to match up with the Panthers in the post and tonight was no different. The Colonels' Paige Baechle recorded her 15th consecutive double-double by scoring 21 and pulling down 17 boards.  Chelsea Benham tallied 15 and Jenna Mire 11.  Centre goes to 9-2 in conference.



Just watched Rhodes win 71-46 against a gutty little Berry squad.

[pbrooks3]

Centre women take care of business at home defeating Millsaps 66-55. This outcome catapults Rhodes into sole possession of 1st place after Rhodes' victory over Oglethorpe. In the Centre win Paige Baechle led the squad with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Chelsea Benham chipped in 14 along with Alexis Guy who also had 14. Centre hits the road next weekend with tough games against both Hendrix and Rhodes.

[pbrooks3]

Definitely some good news stories coming out of the SAA as we go into the final weekend of the regular season. 

Rhodes has produced a tremendous season to date with only 2 losses which could easily have been wins. The team has won 20 games. Junior Lauren Avant has likely garnered Player of the Year averaging 21.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. When she is healthy Lauren fills up a stat sheet nightly.  She makes her team better almost every night in the many ways she contributes.  She is a unique talent in Division 3 and the SAA.

Millsaps in league play has been right there with Rhodes the entire season. Coach Winkler may not have a Lauren Avant on his team but he certainly coaches an athletically talented and balanced squad that competes hard nightly. Millsaps has both inside and outside players with talent.  Aside from losing early several games outside the conference the Majors have consistently stayed near the top of the league.

As a Centre partisan I marvel at what this team has accomplished this season after losing Maggie Prewitt and a bunch of other graduating seniors from last year's sweet 16 team. Following a pre-conference schedule with a pile of tough losses the Colonels have progressed nicely during conference play the way coaches like to see it.  Junior Paige Baechle has quietly put together one of the best seasons ever by a Centre player in history. With 18.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, she has helped Centre to a 10-2 league record at this juncture.

Finally I have to applaud an underdog most of this year - the Hendrix Lady Warriors. These young ladies have hung tough through a lengthy losing streak to record 3 wins in their last 5 games. While this group has truly struggled in the wins department, they are competing at a much higher level as the regular season winds down this weekend.  Think there's an excellent chance Hendrix gets 2 more wins this weekend to finish the season with a 4-game winning streak. Got to hand it to Jamie Tate who averages a double double for the Warriors with 12.9 points and 12.0 boards a game.

Congratulations SAA ladies at all 8 schools on a fine 1st year for this conference.

[pbrooks3]

A most impressive road win tonight for Centre (78-56) as sophomore Maggie Hartlage led the Lady Colonels with 22 points and 6 rebounds.  She made 11-12 shots and played outstanding defense.  Hendrix was effective in the 1st half keeping the Centre bigs mostly out of getting easy looks and rebounds.  Both Benham (12 pts) and Baechle (15 pts) rode the bench for significant time due to fouls.  Backup five - Mary Stough (13 pts) -  picked up the slack in the middle to help keep an 8-10 point lead much of the final 6-7 minutes of the 1st half.  Jamie Tate recorded another double double for the Warriors with 13 points and 11 boards.  Centre showed a lot of poise and grit throughout as they made good use of their pressure defense much of the way which eventually wore down the Warriors midway through the 2nd half.  Centre heads to Rhodes Sunday to try to gain a tie for the conference lead to wrap up the regular season by defeating the #1 Lynx.

[pbrooks3]

Tremendous game @ Rhodes with Centre pulling out a well-earned 69-65 win.  Double-double player Paige Baechle came through with 32 points and 19 rebounds with great support from the entire team. Mary Winstead came off the bench to record 11 big points and some clutch free throws. Centre played solid defense holding the Lynx down offensively in the 2nd half. Rhodes got 17 each from the Sara's - Womack and Johnson. 3-way champs of the SAA - Centre, Rhodes and Millsaps. Millsaps wins tournament host rights next weekend on account of the best home conference record.

[pbrooks3]

Millsaps defeats Sewanee easily 64-33.  The Tigers hung around for the opening 10 minutes and actually held a lead much of the first portion of the game.  The depth and athleticism of Millsaps took over to close the half on a big run to put a wrap on the 1st half.  The Majors widened the margin of the lead early in the final half & Sewanee looked fatigued the remainder of the way.

BSC and Berry will square off in about 15 minutes in game 2.  This one should be competitive.  Berry is good from the perimeter and Birmingham Southern has perhaps a bit more balance, but I think either team is capable of advancing.

Understand the video feeds @ Millsaps are out right now and I'm not certain whether they are updating Live Stats.  Will try to post a bit more frequently today.

[pbrooks3]

Berry is up 30-22 with 6 minutes left in the 1st half.  Chanlir Segarra is lighting it up for the Vikings.

[pbrooks3]

Berry up 39-28 with 2:51 left on the 1st half clock.  They are shredding the BSU defense.

[pbrooks3]

Halftime with Berry leading 49-35.  I count Segarra with 25 points and 5 threes.  Not as competitive so far as I expected but that's why they play 40 minutes!

[pbrooks3]

Berry hangs on to win 81-76.

[pbrooks3]

Rhodes was able to grind out a win against an improving Oglethorpe team.  Looks like Centre will need to grind as well as they find themselves down 32-30 at half.  Hendrix has been effective defending the high low post action of the Colonels.  They have also managed to make a better percentage of shots in the 1st half then Centre.  Alexis Guy has penetrated the defense to score on several occasions, but the Colonels haven't got enough of this.  Go Centre!

[pbrooks3]

Hendrix pulls out a well-earned OT win over Centre 69-68 tonight. Hendrix made big plays at critical times and even senior Chelsea Benham couldn't bail out the Colonels. Hendrix moves on to face #2 seed Rhodes. Centre finishes the season 14-11 with tremendous heart and determination. Congratulations to all of the student athletes participating in the SAA tournament.  Hope Hendrix and Rhodes have an equally exciting game tomorrow.   

[pbrooks3]

Seemingly always a bitter pill to swallow when it's one and done in the league tournament as Centre experienced tonight against Hendrix.  In lots of ways this was a remarkable season for the young Colonels.  They finished the season in a blaze of quality basketball to tie for the regular season title when most would have thought this was a Centre rebuilding year.  This group learned much along the way of their season's journey.  They played with an abundance of youth.  They were challenged by an exceedingly difficult out of conference schedule early which accounted for 8 of their 11 losses.  The great thing about this Centre team was the way they grew and matured as a unit with each passing game.  The early season prepared these ladies for the outstanding run they put together in the conference.  What a joy it was to witness this year's life lessons for this group.  Whatever lies ahead, the Centre community can be proud of this basketball team.