SHREVEPORT—The Centenary gymnastics team posted its best team score of the season on Friday night in the Gold Dome, but could not take down Illinois State. The Redbirds defeated the Ladies 192.775 to 191.825 with a strong showing on the balance beam.

Centenary (2-2) took the lead after the first rotation after scoring a 48.000 on the vault to ISU’s 47.575 on the bars. Senior Meredith Smith won the individual title on the event with an effort of 9.825 while Courtney Hawkins placed third with a 9.700.

The Ladies extended their small lead over the Redbirds after the second rotation with an impressive 48.150 on the bars. Freshmen Tara Sandoval and Marisa Schneider took the top two honors on the apparatus, scoring a 9.900 and a 9.800 respectively. Centenary’s team scores on both the vault and the bars were its highest this season.

Illinois State (2-2) took over the lead with a team score on the floor exercise of 48.425, led by Meaghan Koshman’s 9.825 and Hannah Deutsch’s 9.800. Meanwhile, for the second straight meet, the Ladies Achilles heel was the beam. Freshman Laura Loy did place second with an outstanding routine that scored a 9.850, but Centenary was forced to also count a sub-par score after multiple falls. The resulting 47.050 team score would leave them needing ISU to falter on the beam for a chance at the victory.

Trailing by a little more than eight tenths of a point, the Ladies bore down on the floor competition and all six performers recorded personal highs for the season. Hawkins and Schneider led the way with third place finishes, each having a score of 9.775. Centenary’s team score of 48.625 was a season-high and gave the Ladies the win on the event, but was not enough for the overall victory.

Illinois State finished strong on the beam, scoring a blistering 48.750 powered by Koshman’s 9.875 and Erica Schick’s 9.850.

Schick edged Koshman for the individual all-around title, beating her teammate 38.675 to 38.600 because Koshman failed to land her dismount on the bars, giving her a 9.100. Her other three scores in the all-around were all above 9.800.

Schneider placed third in the all-around competition for Centenary with an effort of 37.750.

The Ladies will return to action on Friday, Feb. 8, when they travel to take on Missouri.