On Friday night, the No. 3 seeded Colorado College women's basketball team routed the University of Dallas 84-49 in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in Shreveport, LA.
CC had 10 players score against the Crusaders, including four who reached double digits. Sophomore
Avery Johnson scored a career-high 14 points, adding five rebounds and two assists. Freshman
Juliana Garcia also notched a career-high 13 points, including 3-7 from three-point range.
Senior
Audrey Bayston and junior
Zoë Tomlinson followed suit with a combined 29 points. Bayston racked up 15 points, eight boards and three assists. Tomlinson contributed 14 points, four rebounds and a block.
The Tigers exploded for 25 points in the first quarter; Bayston led the pack with 11 points in the opening 10 minutes as CC shot 60 percent from the floor while holding the Dallas offense to a .214 clip.
In the second, it was much of the same story; the Tigers couldn't miss the bottom nylon, shooting 60 percent from the floor for the second quarter in a row. Johnson and Garcia combined for 12 points. The Tigers had a 48-16 lead heading into the halftime break, their biggest halftime lead of the season. CC's defense played spectacularly in the opening two quarters; Dallas was limited to a .174 clip at the half.
The Crusaders shot the basketball significantly better in the third quarter, but they also did a good job slowing down the Tigers' offense. Both teams scored 11 points in the third quarter;
Isa Nelson led the team with four points; she ended the night with seven points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
CC was able to ride out the massive lead into the fourth and ultimately cruise to a 35-point victory. They outrebounded the Crusaders 51-27 and the bench had an outstanding outing, putting up 51 of the 84 points.
The Tigers advance to the semifinals to face the No. 2 seeded Texas Lutheran Bulldogs. TLU is the only team to beat CC twice in the regular season..
The Tigers can advance to their third consecutive SCAC Tournament Championship with a win over the Bulldogs. After improving to 19-7 on Friday night, a win on Saturday would mark the first 20-win season for CC in 41 years,
Tip-off in the semifinals is set for 6:00 p.m.
