FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – The Dallas Christian College women's basketball team completed its best week of the season by polishing off a 3-0 showing with a pair of conference victories on Friday and Saturday at home. The Crusaders knocked off Baptist Bible College, 83-73, on Friday in a rematch that avenged an earlier setback in Missouri.

DCC then survived a tight battle with Kansas Christian College on Saturday with an 82-78 result.

The Crusaders improved to 5-6 on the season and are now winners in four of the last five contests.

"We are playing hard and putting the team first! We are figuring out the necessary components for winning and utilizing those assets! Team First!" – Head Coach Larry Tidwell

FRIDAY VS. BAPTIST BIBLE

Keiarra Rivers was the star for the Crusaders in Friday's triumph over the Patriots. The native of Manor, Texas, produced a season-high 33 points thanks to shooting over 50 percent from the floor (13-24) and going 6-for-7 at the free throw line. Rivers also notched her sixth double-double with DCC by hauling in a game-high 13 rebounds. For good measure, the forward hit a three-pointer, posted two assists, steals, and blocks to complete her impressive stat line.

Mckayla Washington continued her strong scoring stretch with her sixth game in a row in double-digits for points with 17. Most of the freshman's damage was done from downtown with four made field goals. DCC had 10 altogether. Avery Roberts secured the team's third double-digit performer with a season-best 10 points. She was the other Crusader to make multiple three-pointers.

DCC jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the game but would fall behind by three at the end of the first quarter. Washington's made two-point shot in the last nine seconds closed the gap to that amount.

In the second quarter, the Patriots (10-9) stormed out to a 29-18 advantage in less than two minutes. A DCC timeout was used to try and snuff the momentum. Rivers split at the free throw line, but Baptist Bible stretched the lead back over 10. A Washington three-pointer cut the deficit back to single-digits. Rivers had the next four points and then an offensive board gave Roberts a second-chance opportunity. One of the senior's two treys sliced the deficit to three points (34-31) with just over five minutes left before halftime. Less than a minute later, Rivers scored the next five points as her three-pointer gave DCC its first lead at 36-34. The sides exchanged leads until a Washington triple put the home team up 44-41 with under a minute. Rivers had a basket as time expired to give the Crusaders a 46-43 lead.

Another six-point advantage in the third quarter was more than enough to give DCC the victory. Two and a half minutes passed in the second half before a field goal and it was Washington drilling what seemed like a another momentum three. Leia Twine got involved next with a three of her own and followed with another basket to open a nine-point edge for Dallas Christian. The margin never came closer than five the rest of the frame, and five points by Micayla Havard and Roberts left the score at 66-59 heading to the fourth.

The last 10 minutes were nearly even, as DCC outscored its foe by one, but also there were not any lengthy runs to threaten the gap.

Baptist Bible easily outshot the Crusaders 43.1 percent to 35.8 percent. However, the Crusaders made eight more three-pointers and benefitted from 20 turnovers. DCC was ahead 15-7 in second chance points.

The Patriots won the battle on the boards, 45-41, and were also better on points in the paint with a significant 36-24 edge. Katlynn Ellison led four starters in double figures with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Kaitlyn King, Josie Sullivan, and Darcy Poynter followed with 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively. Autumn Enote went for nine points and rebounds, a team-best.   

SATURDAY VS. KANSAS CHRISTIAN

The Crusaders had a strong third quarter signal the difference in a four-point affair against Kansas Christian. A quartet of DCC players in the starting five did most of the scoring, as the team shot about the same field goal percentage for the second day in a row. The team had one less three-pointer, but did notch 23 free throws. 14 came from Washington and Crystal Eureste.

Washington was the scoring leader with 18 points to extend her double-digit scoring streak to seven. Eureste and Shabaria Walter followed with 17 points. Walter garnered a double-double with 10 rebounds and seven of those came on the offensive boards. The senior also snatched three steals. Rivers put in 16 points and added seven rebounds to match Eureste for second-most on the squad.

Kansas Christian shot 54.3 percent from the floor, 60 percent from behind the three-point arc, and surpassed 20 made free throws. The Falcons (5-10) also held a 45-32 advantage on the glass. Where DCC benefitted from was the 30 turnovers which led to a 31-9 points difference off the miscues. The Crusaders also held a 17-3 edge in second chance points.

For the second time in as many days, DCC trailed after one quarter. This time it was just two points, but instead of gaining the lead in the second quarter it had to wait until the third. Down a pair at intermission, the Crusaders allowed a three but Rivers got two points back that were exchanged for two more by the Falcons. Shabaria drained a trey to make it a two-point game again. At 6:24, Washington swiped a steal and made the layup to level the score at 46. The Falcons extended their lead back to five. Eureste put DCC up with a three-pointer to make it 58-56, and Shabaria concluded the third quarter scoring to give the Crusaders a four-point lead.

Roberts made a three-pointer within two minutes to stop the last quarter. Rivers had a opened a nine-point advantage at the eight-minute mark to go. DCC would lead by double figures (71-61) with 6:15 left and for the most part stayed within that margin the rest of the way until drama in the last minute. Monique Hunt for the Falcons scored two to make it a one possession game (79-76) with 15 ticks on the game clock. Eureste made three of the last four free throws of the game to seal the win.

Kansas Christian was led offensively by Hunt with 19 points. Jada Johnson had 17 points and 13 boards for a double-double off the bench.

UP NEXT

Dallas Christian continues a busy schedule with its fourth home game in less than a week on Monday, February 1, versus Southwestern Adventist University. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. and will makeup for last Tuesday's conference postponement.