CEDAR CITY, Utah �- Sophomore Bethany Joseph scored a team-high 15 points and freshman Anne Farrell had 13 in Monday's 67-49 loss to Southern Utah in Summit League action.
Poor shooting to start the first half again put Centenary (3-16, 0-9 The Summit League) in a hole. The Ladies were shooting just 3-for-12 midway through the first, while Southern Utah nailed 8-of-12 jumpers and was perfect from outside (2-for-2).
However, SUU's hot start could not continue, as the Thunderbirds (5-15, 3-6 The Summit League) closed the first stanza shooting 48 percent. Centenary, meanwhile, started to find its stroke and connected on 10-of-30 from the field.
Late in the first half, the Ladies went on a 6-0 run and chopped SUU's lead down to 10, but just as quick the tables turned. The Thunderbirds closed the period by going on a 7-3 run, which put Centenary down by 14 at the break.
Unfortunately for Centenary its defensive effort in the second half could not contain Southern Utah's 3-point shooting. The Thunderbirds shot 60 percent from outside, while Centenary could not answer the call, as it only hit 31 percent.
To open the second 20 minutes, SUU outscored Centenary 10-5, which saw the Ladies fall in a hole it could not recover from. However, the Ladies looked like they were going to turn the corner when sophomore Leslie Forest hit a lay-up in the opening seconds.
Centenary's defense held Southern Utah to just 38 percent shooting in the second half, but the Ladies offense still struggled to find pay dirt. Centenary hit only 35 percent from the field.
From 3-point range, Joseph hit all five of Centenary's field goals, while the rest of the team was 0-for-7. <!--[endif]-->
On defense the Ladies were edged in rebounding 42-35, but was led by Farrell, who grabbed a team-high nine boards. Forrest The Ladies will now try to find their swagger on Saturday when they travel to Oral Roberts on Saturday for a 2:05 tip.
