By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Assistant AD/Communications
Centenary’s basketball teams will have some déjà vu’ this weekend as they play the last home games of the season.
The Ladies and Gents face Hendrix College this evening and the University of the Ozarks on Saturday. The teams played each other last weekend in Arkansas as the rematches come just a week later, this time in the Gold Dome.
The Ladies (3-18, 2-10 SCAC) will face the Warriors at 7:30 Friday and the Eagles at 6 o’clock on Saturday. Five seniors — Amiyah Barrow, Kyra Stokes, Layla Powell, Paige Stowers and her twin sister Savannah Stowers — will be honored in a pregame ceremony Saturday.
The red-hot Gents (9-12, 7-5 SCAC) extended their season-high winning streak to five with a 62-60 victory over Ozarks Eagles last Saturday on the road which was preceded by a 74-51 over Hendrix on Friday.
Their games are at 5:30 today and 4 o’clock Saturday at the Gold Dome.
The Gents are winners of seven of their last nine overall and have clinched a berth into the 2026 SCAC Tournament, set for later this month in Conway, Ark.
Centenary’s lone senior, guard Quentin Beverly, will be recognized on Saturday as he winds up a career with over 1,000 points and a 2024 NCAA Tournament appearance.
GYMNASTICS: The Ladies posted a season-high team score of 190.100 to defeat the Greenville University Panthers last Friday evening in a dual meet and the Ladies’ home opener inside the Gold Dome.
Centenary’s score was its best since a 192.175 on Senior Night last season against Fisk University. Centenary finished with season-best scores in all four events –BARS: 46.150, BEAM: 47.950, FLOOR: 48.450, and VAULT: 47.550.
The Ladies’ score on floor is the highest in head coach Meg Crowley’s four seasons at the helm of the program. Centenary set seven career highs on Friday and eight season highs were either set or tied on a very successful evening.
Sophomore Anna Ichiba is this week’s recipient of the Midwest Independent Conference Coaches’ Choice Award, earning one of the four individual honors that the conference chooses on a weekly basis. She finished third on vault with a career high 9.625, fourth on beam with a 9.70, and was seventh on floor with a career-best 9.575.
The Ladies are back home on Sunday against Texas Woman’s University at 1 p.m. in the Gold Dome.
STUNT: The Ladies competed at home for the first time in program history last Sunday, as they faced Muskingum and McNeese inside the Gold Dome.
The team also played its first full game in program history, going a full 16 rounds of play in game one. Centenary was able to put seven points on the board against the No. 2 preseason ranked Muskies, the 2025 Division III national runner-up.
In game two, the Ladies faced a familiar opponent, D-I competitor McNeese. The Lady Pokes were able to capture a 9-1 victory but not without a fight from Centenary to keep the score lower than their last face-to-face action. The Ladies were also able to place a point on the board, an improvement from the 12-0 game from last weekend in Lake Charles.
The Ladies return to action this weekend in the Saint Mary’s Valentine Classic in South Bend, Ind.
BASEBALL: The Diamond Gents (2-2) finished their season-opening trip to the West Coast on a strong note last Sunday as they defeated the Whittier College Poets 13-5 in Southern California. Centenary began the trip by losing two of three to Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Sophomore third baseman Aron Gillum, a former Captain Shreve Gator, had a monster opening weekend as he hit a sizzling .429 (6-14) with four RBI, a three-run home run, a double, five runs scored, two BB, and a stolen base. He posted three multi-hit games and tied his career-high of four RBI on Saturday against Occidental. Gillum finished with an on-base percentage of .529 and slugged .714 with 10 total bases.
Sophomore lefty Roman Ardoin got off to a strong start as he tossed 5.2 innings in a 4-3 win over Occidental on Saturday in which he allowed just three runs, all earned, on seven hits with no walks. He threw 85 pitches, 56 for strikes.
Centenary starts conference play against Schreiner today and Saturday in Kerrville, Texas.
SOFTBALL: Thursday at home, the Ladies began conference play with a pair of dominating run-rule victories over Schreiner, winning Game 1 12-1 in five innings and 12-4 in six innings.
The series finale between the Ladies (2-2, 2-0 SCAC) and Mountaineers (2-6, 0-2 SCAC) is today at 3 at the Centenary Softball Complex.
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu
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