STUNT Opens Historic Season In Impressive Fashion

Warner, Okla. - The Centenary College STUNT program opened its inaugural and historic season with four games versus Southwest Baptist University and Connors State College in a tournament hosted by Connors State inside Warner Events Center.

In game one, the Ladies shut out the Bearcats of SBU (DII) with a 6-0 win. Centenary posted a point in quarter one partner stunts rounds one and two. In the second quarter neither team was able to put points on the board in pyramids and tosses before heading into halftime. In the second half, the Ladies snagged one point in jumps and tumbling during the second routine. To cap off the game, Centenary claimed the partner stunt points in both routines one and two while going 0-0 in jumps and tumbling and pyramids and tosses with the Bearcats. 

"We came out the gate strong for our first ever STUNT game," said Centenary head coach Kaylee King. "The team was excited and of course nervous. We weren't perfect, but we still played great and got to finally understand what it meant to fully play a game. It made the months of preparation worth it. And to claim a win the first game out was really the cherry on top!" 

In game two, it was a face off for the Ladies and Connors State College (Juco) who claimed the win over Centenary 12-0. 

"Game two was tough. Our opponent was well prepared and had played STUNT prior to this season. But it was a great experience because we got to see what we needed to fix and focus on before seeing them again later in the day."

After an hour break, Centenary was back for game three where they once again took on Southwest Baptist and captured an 8-1 victory for the second win of the season. In quarter one and quarter two, the Ladies claimed the points in each round for a total of four points. Back in the second half, Centenary claimed the point in routine one of quarter three and then three points out of quarter four. 

"Coming back into the third game, the team was able to regroup, and really fine tune some things they had been missing. It was a great showing of getting 1% better each game like we've continuously said. Southwest Baptist was a great team and showed great sportsmanship throughout the game. We applaud them and the hard work they put in." 

To round out the game day, Connors State and Centenary would meet once again. This time, the Ladies goal was to put points on the board of an already seasoned opponent and were able to accomplish just that. While they were unable to claim the win, Centenary was able to put three points on the board for a 3-10 finish. 

"From the start of game four, I asked the team to just put one point on the board. While I knew they were capable, they needed to believe in themselves and see what they were capable of. While a victory would have been nice, the feeling of surpassing that goal of one point and putting three up instead was such a great feeling." 

Key players for the day included senior Avery Cauley (Little Rock, Ark.), sophomore J'Anna Sweat (Pitkin, La.), sophomore Ezmeriah Gonzalez (Longview, Texas), sophomore Alli Ledoux (Port Barre, La.), and sophomore Leah Dawson (Shreveport, La.). 

"I am beyond proud of the way our season has started. From the inception of our team, our one goal was to put a point on the board. Which doesn't sound like much to anyone not in the game, but it's tougher than it looks. So, to go out there and claim two wins and put three other points on the board was beyond my expectations and these ladies deserve to be celebrated for making history not only by playing but also winning! However, the work doesn't stop there. They have four more tournament weekends ahead of them with some very seasoned teams, but they are capable of continuing this positive trajectory they are on and I look forward to seeing how it plays out." 

Centenary's challenging schedule includes a mix of junior colleges, NAIA, and teams from all three NCAA divisions. The Ladies' season is set to conclude on March 16.

See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/stunt/2024-25/schedule

See the original announcement of the return of the sport here: https://gocentenary.com/general/2023-24/releases/20231111pwq5s7

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