JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps women's basketball came out of intermission fired up and downed Centenary, 81-59 in the Belhaven Hoops Classic inside Rugg Arena on Saturday.

Millsaps (4-1) outscored Centenary (1-4) by a 26-12 count in third quarter to surge ahead. The Majors built upon a 40-31 margin at intermission.

The teams were fairly even in several statistical metrics, but the Majors controlled fastbreak points (22-12) and points off turnovers (27-17). The Ladies of Centenary College were forced into 25 turnovers.

Senior Haley Franklin nearly recorded a triple-double by netting game-highs of 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. She grabbed four steals defensively.

Sophomore Garin Freeman had another all-around solid game with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Junior Maddy Maw (Raymond, Miss.) chipped in a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 from three-point range. Maw added a steal, rebound and two assists.

Junior Elyse Warren reached 10 points and six rebounds to go along with a steal, block, and assist. Senior Whitney Novak (eight points) and sophomore Tia Anderson (seven points) followed in the Millsaps scoring.

Centenary jumped ahead to a 9-4 lead, but the Majors soon responded to tie the contest at 13-13 after a Maw trey. She wasn't done from long range as she added two more three-pointers to close out the opening quarter. Millsaps scored the final 13 points to claim a 23-13 advantage.

Warren tallied a layup to open the second quarter, concluding a 15-0 run. The Ladies responded and eventually cut the Millsaps margin down to 34-29.

However, Freeman found success from long range and posted a layup for a mini 5-0 run. Millsaps closed holding a 40-31 advantage at the break.

Centenary cut the deficit to 10 points with 6:00 remaining in the third quarter. The Millsaps defense would tighten its grip and scoring punch would begin to deliver a knockout punch.

Freeman closed out the quarter with a layup to beat the buzzer after Millsaps finished on an 18-5 run, leading 66-43 entering the fourth.

The Ladies managed to cut their deficit down to 20 points in the final quarter, but Millsaps was able to cruise to an 81-59 neutral-site triumph on Saturday.

Millsaps will be back in action, hosting Emory University back inside the Hangar Dome on Sunday. Opening tip is slated for 1 p.m. with live video and live stats available at gomajors.com.


To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps women's basketball program follow the Majors on Twitter and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.  
 
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.