JACKSON, Miss – Battling through their third game in four days, a balanced effort and strong fourth quarter lifted No. 25 Millsaps women's basketball to a 50-36 victory over Centenary College (La.) on Tuesday. The Majors held the Ladies to 25 percent from the field in a dominant defensive effort inside the Hangar Dome.

Junior guard Briasha King netted a game-high 13 points while sophomore forward Helena Roe also reached double figures with 10 points to go with nine rebounds.

Senior forward Andrea Rayford was superb in the paint with a career-best 13 rebounds. Junior forward Devan Caldwell stuffed the stat sheet with an all-around game of eight points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

In a contest that was seemingly even, Millsaps (1-3) led for all but 36 seconds of the game. Millsaps made as many free throws as the Ladies shot with 14. The Majors also outrebounded Centenary, 45-30 while holding the Ladies (1-3) to only three assists and 1-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Back-to-back buckets from Caldwell and Meagan Bickmann gave Millsaps a 14-9 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Ladies would retaliate with a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game. King would hit a deep three to immediately give the Majors back the advantage at 17-16 with 3:35 left in the second frame.

Caldwell would find Rayford under the basket for a layup to cap of a 7-2 run to end the quarter and give Millsaps a 24-22 lead heading into the intermission.

With the score tied at 28-28 and 4:02 left in the third, Bickmann knocked down a three to initiate a 7-0 surge before a Centenary layup would end the streak and make it a 35-30 game heading into the fourth quarter.

The Ladies started the fourth quarter on a 5-1 run to bring the game within a point. However, the Majors would lock in defensively and hold their opponents to only one more point for the remaining eight minutes of the game.

A pair of made free throws by King would effectively put the game out of reach at 48-36 with 52 seconds left. Caldwell knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds for a 50-36 win.

The Majors will next host the Millsaps Classic inside the Hangar Dome, Nov. 20-21. They will face St. Thomas (Texas) on Saturday and MUW on Sunday. Both tip offs are scheduled for 1 p.m. Live video and stats links are available on the women's basketball schedule page at gomajors.com.


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