Houston, TX – Celt’s finish the weekend 1-1 getting their first conference win of the season against Jarvis Christian College on Saturday night.
The Celts redeemed themselves Saturday night after losing Friday night to Wiley, 73-50 when they only trailed by 5pts at the half. “Missed opportunities and our own mistakes were our worse enemy against Wiley. We were able to play with them for a half but putting together a full game is what’s needed to beat good teams like Wiley,” Coach Cross said after the game. Ana Dominguez (SR/Spring, Texas) again proved to be a force inside finishing the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds having help from Taylor Forrest (JR/Sugarland, Texas) with 11 points and Maghen Lormand (JR/The Woodlands, Texas) 10 points. While Wiley had three players of their own in double figures, the telling factor of the game was again free throw shooting and points off the bench. Wiley made 23 out of 39 free throws and had 21 points off the bench while the Celts made 11 out of 18 free throws and had 9 points off the bench.
After dropping the first conference game on Friday night against Wiley College, the Celts came back on Saturday to defend their home court against Jarvis Christian College. The game was controlled by the Celts for the entire night after giving up the first 2 points of the night. After that score the Celts never looked back and continued to make plays and get defensive stops. The Celts were led in scoring by Taylor Mitchell (SR/Galveston, Texas) with 11 points and Madi Robinson (JR/Crockett, Texas) with 9 points. Ana Dominguez, who is ranked in the top 5 in 4 categories for the NAIA Division 1, continues to contribute on the glass and in the paint. She ended the night with 9 rebounds, 8 points and a career high 7 blocks in a single game.
“The effort and concentration by everyone tonight to come out and defend our home court was a step in the right direction,” Coach Cross mentioned after the game. “Our defensive intensity and attention to details gave us an edge that we have not had for a few games now. Being able to hold a team to 40 points total and only 4 points in the third quarter means that you are hustling and doing all the right things to get the job done.”
Jarvis was led by three players, Jasmine Dumas 15 points, Taybreanna Couch 10 points and Tanya Simpson 10 points.