HATTIESBURG, Miss. — William Carey jumped out to a double-digit lead in the opening five minutes and never let up, overpowering Abraham Baldwin in a dominant 94–45 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Crusaders set the tone immediately.
Jenna Garriga opened the scoring with a jumper, followed by a mid-range bucket from
Leah Sutton and a transition finish from
Meyah Doyle to make it 6–0 out of the gate. After
Addyson Sherer's pull-up pushed the lead to 8–0, ABAC finally responded with a three—its first points of the afternoon.
Carey answered right back. Sutton added two free throws and a layup, Garriga buried a corner triple, and
Bailey Devall came off the bench with an instant-offense jumper to stretch the margin to 17–3 with four minutes left in the first. By the end of the quarter,
Alyssa Hillard's late free throws capped a commanding 31–8 start for the Lady Crusaders.
Carey kept the pressure on in the second period.
Brooklyn Cuevas opened the frame with a wing three and a slicing layup, Hillard added another triple, and both
Anna Rose Engle and
Charlie Gamberine joined the long-range barrage as the lead swelled past 30. Devall and Gamberine each knocked down threes later in the quarter, and Sherer's free throw with 2:40 remaining pushed the advantage to 51–14 as WCU cruised into halftime firmly in control.
The Crusaders came out of the locker room just as sharp. Cuevas drilled another three early in the third, Garriga and Sutton connected on back-to-back triples, and a Garriga runout made it 62–19 with just under six minutes left. Carey continued to roll, and free throws by Gamberine and Devall closed the quarter with the Crusaders leading 69–33.
Sherer opened the final period with a dagger three, and Sutton added a layup and another deep ball as the margin ballooned back into the 40s. Cuevas hit a jumper, Doyle scored on a late layup, and
Presley Thompson struck in transition as Carey punctuated a complete and balanced team performance. The final horn sounded on a 94–45 win.
Sherer and Sutton led the scoring effort with 14 points apiece. Devall recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Cuevas and Garriga also reached double figures with 10 points each.
Next up for the Lady Crusaders is a trip to Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, February 12, where they will face Faulkner University. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
