HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The Centenary University women's basketball team raced out to a 15-3 lead after 10 minutes of play and eventually claimed a 64-35 win over Cairn University on Thursday night in the season opener.
Seventeen Cyclones saw time in the contest as a balanced attack was led by 12 points from
Brie Opdyke and 10 points from
Tanya Elsbree.
The Cyclones opened up a 9-0 lead in the first quarter as
Carmen Escano made one-of-two from the foul line at 5:33 mark. After Cairn broke up the run with a three-pointer, the Cyclones closed the first stanza on a 6-0 run. Opdyke and
Jasmine Sampong each had a bucket in that stretch.
The Cyclones and Highlanders traded baskets to start the second quarter. Three straight points from Opdyke gave the home team a 21-7 lead with 5:34 to go until the half. A 5-0 run that featured buckets from Escano and T. Elsbree gave Centenary a 31-11 lead at the half.
Centenary pushed its lead to 39-14 on a jumper from
Sofia Mendez at the 6:29 mark of the third quarter. A jumper from T. Elsbree with 32 seconds left on the clock helped the home team take a 46-20 lead after three periods of play.
A jumper from
Camryn Rothery at 7:19 of the fourth quarter gave Centenary a 51-21 advantage. An 8-0 run, including the first bucket of
Nora Dornich's collegiate career put the Cyclones ahead 59-22 with 5:16 remaining in the game. The two teams continued to battle as a late free throw from Dornich closed out a 64-35 win.
Centenary shot 41.4% from the field and made 14-of-23 from the foul line. Cairn shot 28.9% from the floor and made 11-of-20 shots from the charity stripe. Centenary held a 37-32 edge in the rebounding battle. The aggressive nature from the Cyclones led to 24 steals and 40 points off of Cairn turnovers.
Opdyke led Centenary with 12 points and two rebounds while T. Elsbree contributed 10 points and three rebounds. S. Mendez had six points, two rebounds and four steals while Escano added four points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Kaitlyn Barry led Cairn with 12 points and four rebounds.
Centenary is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 12 when it travels to Clarks Summit at 1 p.m.
