Men and women’s basketball teams start strong in conference games
The University of Dallas’ men and women’s basketball teams have started their conference games off strong with the women’s team winning both of their games and the men’s team winning one of their games.
Both teams played against the University of St. Thomas and Centenary College of Louisiana in the Maher Athletic Center on Dec. 1 and 2.
The women’s team dominated the first quarter against the Celts, scoring 21 points against the Celts’s eight points. The two teams gained about the same amount of points in the second and third quarters, but the University of St. Thomas could not overturn the Crusader’s head start. With no mercy, the women’s team prevented the other team from making any more progress in the final quarter as the Crusaders scored 15 points compared to the Celts scoring six points. The game ended with the University of Dallas’ win, 63 to 43.
Tessa Hastings, sophomore business major and #21, scored 20 points throughout the game, which is the third time she has scored at least 20 points in a game this season. She scored 22 points against McMurry University and 25 against Belhaven.
Caroline Croft, sophomore biology major and #11, had 11 rebounds and 8 assists, contributing to the team’s strong energy against the Celts.
Though the women’s game against St. Thomas kicked off with a blast, their game against Centenary College of Louisiana kicked off with an explosion. They drowned the Ladies in a huge head start with an eight point lead in the first quarter and increasing it to a 12 point lead in the second quarter. Both teams scored a similar amount of points in the third and fourth quarter, but Centenary College could not overcome the large difference in points. Ultimately, the Crusaders won 69 to 51.
Once again, Hastings led with 13 points, and Croft scored 10 points, had six rebounds, and had nine assists.
The men’s team’s game against the University of St. Thomas was a close one, but they, like the women’s team, won against the Celts. The Crusaders dominated the first half, though the Celts fought back hard in the second half. The tug-of-war for points resulted in the University of Dallas’ win of 81 to 78.
The players on the men’s team performed well, with Kelton Coleman, freshman business major and #30, scoring 18 points. Coleman has not scored less than 10 points this season, so he is on a roll. Not too far after him was Johnathan ‘Johny’ Olmsted, sophomore business major and #9, with 13 points and six assists. Jack Boyle, senior business major and #0, had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Crusaders had a great boost of energy in the first half against Centenary College, scoring 44 points against the Gents’s 38 points. However, they lost momentum in the second half, scoring 43 points against the Gents’ 53 points. The game ended with the University of Dallas’ loss of 87 to 91.
Boyle performed very well, scoring 24 points and having 10 rebounds. Zac Olmsted, business graduate student and #5, had six assists.
Based on how the women’s basketball team have performed so far, they seem to be on track for a successful season. The Crusaders won against the University of St. Thomas and Centenary College of Louisiana last year, so it is great that they are maintaining their victories. They currently have seven wins and three losses including the conference games, which is an improvement from last year, when they had 11 wins and 14 losses.
Though the men’s basketball team have three wins and six losses this season, they definitely have the potential to come back. They lost against St. Thomas in the 2021-2022 season, so they’re doing well against St. Thomas. They won one game and lost one game against Centenary College of Louisiana in the 2021-2022 season, so they have a chance to turn things around. The men’s games this season have all been very close, so the team just needs to keep working hard and improving.
Great job to the men and women out on the court! UD students should continue to support our basketball teams throughout this season.