Month: December 2022

Christendom Joins NSAC for Women’s Basketball

In an agreement finalized on Christmas Eve, Christendom College has accepted an invitation to join the New South Athletic Conference for women’s basketball effective immediately. The Crusaders are eligible to compete for the inaugural NSAC women’s basketball championship culminating with the season-ending tournament February 25 and 26 in Newport News, Virginia.

“The Christendom women’s basketball team is excited to join the New South Conference for the remainder of the 2022-23 season,” said Crusaders athletic director Patrick Quest. “We look forward to the challenge of competing with the very talented women’s basketball teams in the New South Conference.”

Christendom’s game at Mid-Atlantic Christian on December 3, a thrilling 65-62 overtime win for the Mustangs, will count toward the standings.

“Christendom joining the New South was a great Christmas present,” said league commissioner Mike Davis. “The Crusaders are one of the top teams in the USCAA and will really push our other teams. We are thrilled to have them.”

Christendom is ranked 11th in USCAA division 2 and is led by sophomore Catherine Thomas, who is currently second in the nation in points per game (28.4) and rebounds (14.8).

Christendom joined the NSAC for volleyball earlier this year and swept through the conference season undefeated and won the tournament hosted at Crusader Gym.

Mustangs Struggle at Randolph

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Randolph women’s basketball team broke the game open with a big second quarter effort as they went on to win Mid-Atlantic Christian 61-33 Saturday afternoon.

Randolph’s winning streak runs to seven games with the victory and their overall record improves to 9-2. The Mustangs drop to 4-6.

The WildCats led 11-0 past the midway point of the first quarter. The Mustangs cut the Randolph lead with a 9-1 run to close the deficit and trail 12-9.

The ‘Cats jumped on top of MACU with a 17-2 run to begin the second quarter that covered seven minutes of game time, effectively putting the game out of reach. Randolph would lead 33-13 at the break.

On the afternoon, the WildCats were 23-of-77 (29.9%) from the floor and 11-of-31 (35.5%) from behind the three-point arc. The Mustangs struggled from the floor, shooting 13-of-69 (18.8%) and just 2-of-26 (7.7%) in three-point attempts.

MACU closes out its fall semester schedule Monday at Virginia Wesleyan.

Story courtesy randolphwildcats.com

Builders Open Home Schedule With 68-50 Win Over CCCC

NEWPORT NEWS – After starting the season with seven straight road games, the Apprentice School women’s basketball team knocked off Central Carolina, 68-50, Saturday afternoon.

The Builders led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 9-1 lead over the first five minutes. After the Cougars cut the lead down to five early in the second quarter, Apprentice pushed the lead out to 17 points at 34-17 and maintained a sizable margin going into halftime.

Central Carolina didn’t go away quietly, trimming the lead to as few as 17 after trailing by as many as 27 in the second half.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Two Builders finished with double-doubles, including a 15-point, 20-rebound outing from Jada Bryant off the bench. Amaya Ray ended with 14 points and 13 boards and also had six assists and six steals. Nyla Jackson led Apprentice with 18 points.
  • The Builders pulled down 27 offensive rebounds and converted them into 16 second chance points.
  • The win marked the first home opening win for the women’s basketball program in exactly three years when they took down Regent in the home opener on December 10, 2019.

NEXT UP

Apprentice will next take the floor in 2023 as they will be at Virginia-Lynchburg on January 10.

Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com

MACU’s Williams Collects POTW Honors

Tyeisha Williams of Mid-Atlantic Christian led the Mustangs to two wins this past weekend and is honored as this week’s New South Conference Player of the Week.

Williams scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four blocks in Friday’s win over Trinity Washington. Then on Saturday, she led the Mustangs with 29 points, 10 boards and six steals in an overtime win against USCAA rival Christendom.

Congratulations, Tyeisha!

Builders Fall at Johnson & Wales

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Apprentice School women’s basketball team dropped a road game Sunday at Johnson & Wales, 88-64.

The Wildcats led wire-to-wire, but the Builders, ranked ninth in USCAA Division 1, were able to hang with the seventh-ranked team in USCAA Division 2. Apprentice (2-5 overall, 0-1 NSAC) trailed by five points after the first, 11 at halftime and 16 after three quarters before JWU pulled away in the fourth.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Three Builders finished in double figures, led by Amaya Ray‘s 20 points. Jada Bryant added 15, while Nyla Jackson had 12.
  • Johnson & Wales made 13 three pointers on the day.

NEXT UP

Apprentice will be at home for the first time this season on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Central Carolina.

Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com

Mustangs Win Back to Back

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian got back on the winning track with back-to-back victories Friday and Saturday at Chesson Gym.

The Mustangs, ranked 10th in the lastest USCAA Division 1 coaches poll, took control early in Friday night’s contest and cruised to a 68-41 win over Trinity Washington. MACU won each quarter using a balance scoring attack led by Tyeisha Williams’ 15 points. The Tigers’ Keisha Cooper led all scorers with 19.

In a quick turnaround, MACU (3-3 overall, 0-0 NSAC) had a nerve-wracking battle on its hands with visiting Christendom College on Saturday morning. In a match featuring three lead changes and two ties, MACU prevailed in overtime 65-62.

In contrast to Friday’s game, this was a two-player shootout with the Crusaders’ Catherine Thomas pouring in 33 points to lead all scorers and the Mustangs’ Williams close behind with 29.

It was Christendom’s first loss of the season after opening with four straight victories, including a buzzer-beating win over Regent 62-60 on Friday.

Apprentice, MACU Crack Top 10 Polls

Congratulations to Apprentice and Mid-Atlantic Christian, who placed both of their men’s and women’s basketball teams in the first USCAA Coaches Polls of the season.

The Builders placed seventh on the men’s side and ninth for the women, while the Mustangs come in at eighth and tenth, respectively.