GEORGETOWN, Texas – Tori Carraway scored her 1,000th career point on her first possession and then proceeded to showcase the variety of skills that got her there, leading the Southwestern University Pirates women's basketball team to a 72-54 victory over the Centenary Ladies with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Carraway entered the game at the 5:58 mark in the first quarter and immediately flashed from one block to another, turning middle from the right side for a left-handed hook over her right shoulder, shielding the ball with her body and drawing a foul.
The ensuing free throw brought her to 1,000 points on her career, bringing cheers from the bench and home crowd.
Southwestern University's frontcourt did all the damage early, with Cecily Woolfolk, Kelsey Faykus, and Carraway scoring all 14 of the Pirates' first-quarter points to lead by one going into the second. The bench sparked the Pirates in the second quarter with the backcourt of Chloe Drum and Courtney Maass providing some flow to the Southwestern offense.
Drum led the Pirates' offense to points on three consecutive possessions, slicing through the lane and giving a quick ball fake to scramble the rotating defenders out to the 3-point line, conceding an open layup. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Drum then found Carraway for a jumper, then answered a Centenary layup by finding Maass at the 3-point line for a 29-23 lead.
Center Cecily Woolfolk and Carraway paced the Pirates in the first half with 11 and 10 points, respectively to give the Pirates a 32-23 lead at the break.
Noel Pratts supplied defensive pressure in the third quarter, deflecting passes at the point of attack and picking up two steals and a block while scoring six points in the third quarter.
Carraway scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, hitting 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to carry the Pirates down the stretch while Pratts scored six more, adding another steal and block.
Pratts finished with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting, leading a Pirates' defense that forced 20 turnovers with four steals and two blocks. Woolfolk also had 12 points on 10 shots with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Maas had nine points and three assists off the bench while Drum had four points and three assists, helping the Pirates' second-unit outscore their counterparts 36-21.
With the win, the Pirates improve to 11-13 for the season and 10-5 in conference play, dropping Centenary to 8-16 and 6-9. Southwestern will close out its regular season by honoring its seniors in a game against Austin College on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.