In the final regular season home game for eight seniors, the Centre College women's basketball team was unable to rally in the closing seconds and fell 58-56 to Rhodes College Sunday, Feb. 19 in Danville, Ky.
Things looked good early for the Colonels as they jumped out to a 12-4 lead just under five minutes into the game. The Lynx fought back and cut the lead to two points (15-13) when Sharwil Bell hit a three-pointer at the 9:36 mark.
Centre then went on a 14-3 run to go in front 29-16 and would go on to take a 12 point lead (33-21) into the locker room at halftime. Seniors Maggie Prewitt (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) and Lauren Huter(Louisville, Ky.) provided most of the offensive fire power for the Colonels as the two combined for 25 of the team's 33 first half points.
The lead grew to 16 points early in the second half, and Centre would continue to control the game with an 11-point lead (45-34) with 13:49 to play.
That lead would slowly disappear as Rhodes scored 14 of the next 16 points to tie the game at 47-47.
Huter hit a free throw and a lay-up to give Centre the lead again at 50-47, but Lauren Avant answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 50-50.
After another Huter free throw and a Prewitt lay-up, the Lynx scored the next seven points and led 57-53 with 39 seconds remaining.
Prewitt nailed a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game. After being fouled, Bell hit one of two free throws to put Rhodes back in front 58-55.
With only one second on the clock, Prewitt was fouled at mid-court after trying to advance the ball for a potential game-tying shot. The senior guard hit the first attempt and intentionally missed the second. In a scramble for the rebound, junior Chelsea Benham (Taswell, Ind.) was fouled and sent to the line for two shots.
Benham's first shot bounced off the rim and the Colonels were unable to come up with the ball and get a shot off after she intentionally missed the second attempt.
The Colonels, which fall to 21-3 overall and 14-2 in the SCAC, have now dropped only two home games all year by a combined three points.
Centre shot 38.3% (18-47) from the field, including only 1 of 8 (12.5%) from beyond the three-point arc, and 19 of 30 (63.3%) from the free throw line. The Lynx finished at 36.2% (21-58) from the floor, but made 15 of their 29 shots (51.7%) in the second half, including four of their eight made three-pointers.
Like the first half, Huter and Prewitt accounted for most of the scoring in the second half with 18 of the team's 23 points. Huter finished with game-highs in points (22) and rebounds (12), while Prewitt tallied 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Avant and Bell paced the Rhodes attack (17-7 overall, 10-5 SCAC). Avant scored 19 points and had four steals and three rebounds, and Bell posted 16 points and six rebounds in the win.
Centre will next travel to Birmingham, Ala. to participate in the 2012 SCAC Women's Basketball Championship. The Colonels will enter the tournament as the top seed on the East and will play the #4 seed from the West Friday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. CST.