SHREVEPORT �- Keeping the turnovers down again was the key for the Centenary women's basketball, as it had just 13, but a 3-point field by Chazny Morris with a little under a minute and a half remaining sealed the game up for UMKC. The Ladies fell on Monday Night in the Gold Dome, 80-72, in Summit League action.
For Centenary its offense again started slow, but the defense was the key reason why the Ladies stayed tight with UMKC. Centenary forced the Kangaroos into 11 first period turnovers and was able to get four steals.
The Ladies were down 15-4 nearing the half point in the first half, but they stormed back thanks 18-7 run, which tied the game at 22. Centenary wasn't able to take the lead but did stay close, never allowing the �'Roos to get a leader larger than six.
Leading Centenary at the half was freshman Anne Farrell, who scored eight points, while classmate Ashley Jackson pulled down five rebounds. For UMKC, Marta Waalen came off the bench to score 11 points and pull down five boards.
The second half started much like the first, as Centenary was 0-for-6 from the field and 0-of-3 from deep. Keeping the Ladies in the game was their free throw shooting, as they hit 5-of-6 early in the half.
The Ladies got UMKC's lead down to one late on a pair free throws by junior Karolina Zaloga. On its next trip down the floor, with UMKC clinging to a 63-62 advantage, sophomore Monique Jefferson had a wide open look at a 3-point field goal, but the ball just rimmed out.
Centenary played dominate defense in the second 20 minutes, keeping UMKC's shooting percentage at a minimum (44 percent) and forcing the �'Roos into 19 turnovers. However, the �'Roos did win the rebounding battle, grabbing 48, while holding Centenary to 30.
Individually for the Ladies, they were led by Farrell and Jackson, who each had a game-high 20 points, while Zaloga followed with 16. UMKC was led by Alysa Klein, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Morris also had 18. Waalen and Sierra Radke each added 13 points.
Centenary will next be on the floor on Saturday, when it travels to conference leader South Dakota State for a 5 p.m. tip.
