DALLAS, Texas – Dallas Christian College started out the DCC Women's Basketball Thanksgiving Classic with a pair of victories on Thursday over Texas Christian College and Southwestern Adventist University. The Crusaders were able to edge the Wolfpack, 73-71, before running away with an 86-23 triumph over Southwestern Adventist in a contest that is not counting toward Southwest Region play.
 
DCC played the Wolfpack for the second straight time, and this one had a different storyline to the game. Instead of needing a second half rally like the first meeting to win, it was the home Crusaders that led by as many as 12 late in the second quarter. They would carry a 37-30 lead into halftime.
 
The Wolfpack would score the first eight points 1:15 minutes into the next quarter as Caro had back-to-back triples and Crystal Allen made a go-ahead shot. DCC's Amber Covington got her team back in front and sparked a 5-0 run with an old fashioned three-point play. Taylor Brokenberry added a jumper and Covington split at the free throw line at 6:37 to cap the streak. Both teams had long droughts of scoring, but it was the Wolfpack that led by four (50-46) with just over a minute left in the third. Covington sliced the margin in half with both free throws for the final points of the stanza.
 
A trey by Faith Salinas started the final quarter and lifted DCC nine seconds in. After a Texas Christian basket, nine straight points fell for the Crusaders to open a 60-52 advantage. Salinas had the jumper and Keiarra Rivers scored the next seven in a variety of ways. She had a layup, three-pointer, and then made a pair at the line. With 4:22 left on the clock, Texas Christian regained the lead and would be up a possession (68-65) with three and a half minutes remaining. Salinas had a game-tying trifecta and Rivers split at the line to put DCC up for good. Courtney Locke split at the line to make it a two-point lead and 1:39 left. The Wolfpack would get a point back at the line on the next possession, but Rivers had a layup to extend the score to three. The  Wolfpack converted on both free throws next time, and then Locke had another one-of-two in free throws to finish what would be a 73-71 result. With 14 seconds left, the Wolfpack were unable to get off a last shot attempt.
 
The Crusaders were up and down shooting throughout the game and finished with a 37.3 percent effort that was helped by 7-of-13 in the last 10 minutes. The team made eight triples and was 21-for-32 at the free throw line.
 
Salinas paced the offense with a season-high and team-high 18 points. She was 6-for-9 on the floor and went 3-for-4 from downtown and at the charity stripe. She added six rebounds and two assists.
 
Rivers contributed 14 points and eight boards and matched a team-high five assists with Covington, who by the way recorded a double-double with 11 points and team-most 13 boards. River Romine tallied all nine of her points from long range with a trio of three-pointers. The Crusaders won the battle on the boards, 50-34. DCC would earn an 11-6 edge in second chance points.
 
However, they were edged on points in the paint (24-20), fastbreak points (8-2), and points off turnovers (30-17). This included a 22-10 edge in the second half for Texas Christian.
 
In the nightcap of the first day of the tournament, it was all DCC thanks to a 28-7 result in the first quarter. The Crusaders never allowed Southwestern Adventist to break double figures in a single quarter, while the home team scored at least 15 per frame.
 
DCC shot above 50 percent in the first half and neared that overall at a 49.3-clip. However, the Crusaders only hit 5-of-16 from three and were 15-for-24 in free throws. Despite that, it was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball that saw 13 players see time on the floor and 12 break into the scoring column.
 
A pair of guards led the scoring in this one with Mckayla Washington going for a game-high 15 points thanks to 5-of-8 shooting and 2-for-3 from downtown. She dished five assists of the team's 22 assists. Naiya Brown added a season-high 12 points. Even Rivers eight points looked good with her shooting perfect from the floor. Covington had nine points and five rebounds. Micayla Havard was another standout performer with nine points and 10 boards for a near double-double. She added four dimes for second in that column.
 
Dallas Christian continues tournament play on Friday night with another fellow Southwest Regional school Randall University. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

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