Centre women finish as national leader in free throw percentage

After a season in which the Centre women's basketball team set a school record for wins in a season, it also finished as Division III statistical champion for team free throw percentage, the NCAA announced Friday.

As a team, the Colonels made 450 of 566 free throw attempts for a percentage of 79.5, setting a new school record for the second straight year. The team will receive a plaque for finishing first among 430 Division III women's basketball teams in the category, edging Colby at 78.7 and Northwestern (Minn.) at 76.9.

Leading the team were Maggie Prewitt (Mount Sterling, Ky.), who shot 87.1 percent (135-of-155) from the line and Chelsea Benham (Taswell, Ind.) who shot 85.8 percent (109-of-127). Among individuals, Prewitt ranked 12 in the nation and first in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference while Benham was 29th nationally and third in the SCAC.

The Colonels finished with a 26-4 record this season and won the SCAC's regular season and tournament championships. They defeated Guilford and No. 9 Washington-St. Louis in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Carthage in the round of 16.