Centenary Ladies Basketball: A Tough Season for a Tougher Team
Photo by Centenary College Marketing & Communication
The Centenary women's basketball team began their 2021-22 season in early November with a nail-biting 69-64 win against LeTourneau University. This iconic game marked the first time since the 2016-17 season that the Ladies won their season opener. It was a fulfilling start to the season, and Centenary students and fans have remained pumped to see what is in store for the Ladies as the season continues.
The Centenary women’s basketball team consists of four freshmen: Mary Leday, Dymon Drumgo, Alana Jones, and Katelyn Simon. Leday, from Opelousas, Louisiana, and Jones, from Shreveport, Louisiana, brought a fiery potential to the team as freshman starters averaging 24.6 and 21.9 minutes per game. While working together to learn the rules of college basketball--they have made appearances in more than ten games this season while maintaining an average of 4.2 and 5.9 points per game. Drumgo follows with an appearance in ten games and an average of 3.7 points per game. Simon sits at an average of 1.7 points per game in her seven-game total.
Addy Tremie--from Sulphur, Louisiana--is a starting guard and the only sophomore on the team. She made her mark as a valuable player, beginning in her first season during the 2020-21 school year, where she was named the SCAC Co-Newcomer of the Year. Tremie has started in all 14 games this season and currently averages 13.1 points per game and 37.5 minutes per game.
Blair Abshire, Destini Powell, Jazzmyn Jones, and Amelia Bagwell are the juniors on the team. Bagwell and Jones are returning forwards who had previously played in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. During her sophomore season, Jones was ranked 16th best in the SCAC for her astounding 5.9 rebounds per game. She has appeared in 13 games this season with an average of 10.8 points per game. Bagwell's accomplishments last season include ranking 5th in offensive rebounds and 12th in blocks in the SCAC. She has started in 5 out of her 14 played games and has averaged 4.6 points per game. Abshire's ten-played games include contributions to the team's success in assists, steals, and rebounds. Destini Powell, an exemplary player who found her way back to the Ladies after playing for the team her freshman year, had a major impact her first season with a 3rd best average of 24.3 minutes per game. She has started in 11 out of 14 played games, with an average of 12.5 points per game. Powell was recently named the SCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week and named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week for the week of December 5th.
Photo by Emily Moreno
The two senior guards on the team are Patience Bates and Jennae Mayberry. Bates transferred from Frank Phillips College in Houston, Texas, for her sophomore season, where she appeared in nine games. This season she is unfortunately out with an ACL tear but continues to support her teammates from the sidelines throughout her recovery. Mayberry is a hard worker returning for her third season on the court. In her previous seasons, she has been named the SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete of the Week and added to the 12th annual SCAC Winter All-Sportsmanship Team for both seasons she has played. She averages 3.7 points per game and 29 minutes per game.
The roster available on GoCentenary lists a total of 11 players, which is less than the Ladies started with this summer. We can find answers as to why so many players have dropped from the Ladies in the never-ending topic that is COVID-19. Freshman guard Mary Leday expressed how COVID has impacted both the team and the Ladies' 2021-22 season:
“COVID has eliminated some of our games as well as players.” Leday mentions that "about 7 or 8 players" have dropped from the team since the beginning of the year. On top of the mental stress placed on the team from the high-demanding basketball schedule, there is also physical stress to consider.
“The hardest part of this season has been continuously losing players,” Leday stated when asked what the most challenging part of this season has been. “It was really hard on our bodies,” she sighed, “getting used to playing all those minutes.”
Despite the hardships endured by the Centenary Ladies this season, the team has done a tremendous job at learning how to work better together. As the second half of their season continues, Centenary students should remain supportive of the Ladies' past and future achievements on the basketball court as they close out what could be their toughest season yet.