MANHATTAN, Kan. – The No. 5 Dallas Christian College women's basketball team claimed a victory in its first NCCAA Southwest Regional game with an 84-67 final at Manhattan Christian College on Wednesday evening. The Crusaders won for the second time in a row on a four-game road trip.
DCC would use a 27-12 second quarter to erase a one-point deficit in the opening frame to gain control of contest the rest of the way. A quintet of Crusaders recorded double figures in scoring led by
Faith Salinas with 16.
Amber Covington,
River Romine, and
Taylor Brokenberry each totaled 11 points. McKayla Washington was the fourth starter in the above group to eclipse 10 points with that amount.
Keiarra Rivers was the lone starter to not reach double-digits in scoring, but still contributed with five rebounds to match a team-high. DCC was outdone 27-26 in team rebounds, which has been uncharacteristic of the team this season. The Crusaders did pick up 19 steals led by Romine with four and 12-of-14 players recorded at least one for the guests. Manhattan was forced into 37 turnovers on the night, with 24 in the first half. The Crusaders benefitted from a 40-18 scoring edge in points off turnovers including 17-3 in that pivotal second quarter.
A three-pointer by Washington lifted DCC to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter. However, Kayleigh Mannering answered two possessions later with a triple of her own to spark a 10-0 run that was capped by another three by her with 2:53 left. Salinas ended DCC's cold spell with a jumper at 1:17 and Romine would hit a layup with 13 ticks left on the time to give the Crusaders a brief lead. Manhattan had the final bucket to take a one-point lead into the first break.
Mannering delivered a monster performance for the Thunder going 11-for-17 and 6-for-9 from three for a game-high 32 points. Another trey started the second quarter to make it 18-14. A couple steals led to points by Romine to knot the score with less than a minute in. Salinas drilled a trifecta that put DCC ahead the rest of the game. From 7:05 until intermission, DCC stretched a one-point difference (21-20) to 14 (41-27) with the help of scoring the final seven points lin under a minute.
Carmen Rosales nailed a trey and then had a steal on the next play to find
Naiya Brown on a fast break.
Courtnee Locke was also crucial on the run with an assist and then steal to prevent the Thunder from scoring. Brokenberry found a layup at the horn to cap the 14-point edge.
In the third quarter, DCC allowed the margin to slip to single-digits once and that was at nine points with six and a half minutes remaining. The road team led by as many as 16 in that quarter.
The last quarter is when things got close for the Thunder storming back to a six-point deficit, as Roni Harris made a three to cap a 7-0 surge. A layup by Brokenberry made it 62-54 and sparked an 11-2 run that had Romine make her lone three and open a 71-56 advantage. Manhattan pulled to 71-61 with four and a half minutes left, but 10 of the next 13 points ballooned the lead for DCC to 20. Only Mannering's two three-pointers accounted for the last home team points.
The Crusaders shot 47.4 percent from the floor and only took four free throws all night. They were an identical 12-for-21 in shooting in the second and fourth quarters, which both were 20-plus point frames. DCC did hold a 46-24 edge on points in the paint and 14-3 edge in second chance points.
Dallas Christian moved to 8-1 overall, which is arguably the best start in program history. Manhattan Christian dropped to 1-5.
Dallas Christian plays the next two days in a row at Calvary University (December 2) and No. 1 Champion Christian College (Dec. 3).
