Above photo by Russell Marwitz/True To The Cru
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- The UMHB women’s basketball team rebounded from Friday’s loss to Colorado College and right to its first road victory of the season on Saturday afternoon.
The Crusaders defeated Nebraska Wesleyan, 66-55, fighting off a late rally from the Prairie Wolves in the fourth quarter, and winning the rebounding battle 49-32. It moved UMHB to 2-2 on the year, and 1-1 on the road.
Kaitlyn Kollmorgen gave UMHB its first lead of the game 15 seconds into the opening quarter, sinking a free throw to put the Cru up 1-0. NWU countered soon after, with a jumper from Brianna Denton, and held a four-point advantage until UMHB guard Cheyanne Bonilla converted on consecutive short-range shots, the second of which saw the sophomore go coast-to-coast, stealing the ball, before racing up the court for the layup to tie the score.
UMHB widened the margin to 16-12 before the end of the first quarter, and a 5-0 run to begin the second resulted in a nine-point advantage. Head coach Mark Morefield’s team did not trail for the remainder of the contest, as YuYu Adeleke’s jumper with 21 seconds until the half gave the Cru a double-digit lead, 35-23. A three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter from guard Bethany McLeod sealed the win, putting the Crusaders up by 18 points with 8:01 to play.
After facing Colorado College on Friday, and allowing nine three-pointers, UMHB’s defense was locked in against the Prairie Wolves, as NWU converted just one of its seven attempts from beyond the arc.
The Cru shot a respectable 35 percent from the field in the victory, with 35 points coming from the bench. Alexia Martin was responsible for 12 of those, as the guard came off the bench to play 25 minutes and lead the team in scoring. Forward Ashley Faux added 10 points and two assists, while Bonilla tallied seven points and a career-high eight rebounds. Kollmorgen had five points, four offensive rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
UMHB opens ASC play next Saturday against Ozarks. The Eagles are 4-2 on the year, and already opened their conference scheduling, losing to Howard Payne before defeating Sul Ross State by one point.
