Photo of Catherine Kaiser by Russell Marwitz/russellmarwitz.com
KERRVILLE, Texas- It had been three years since Catherine Kaiser had taken the floor in her hometown. But on Wednesday night, the UMHB center was back at home, both figuratively, and literally.
“Her confidence is back,” UMHB head coach Mark Morefield said postgame. “She is playing with that confidence I know she can play with.”
Kaiser, who starred at Kerrville Tivy High School, ended up being a key factor in No. 13 UMHB’s 64-61 victory over Schreiner, scoring 15 points as she shot 7-of-8 from the field. And no shot was bigger than the one she took with less than a second left.
With the score knotted at 61 apiece, and 3.9 seconds on the clock, Arieona Rosborough inbounded the ball, getting it to Ashley Faux, who quickly whipped a pass inside to Kaiser. She gathered the ball, and put up a hurried shot off the backboard. It fell through, giving UMHB a 63-61 lead with 0.3 remaining as the UMHB bench leapt to its feet in celebration.
“It started, I really feel, with the Transylvania game last year,” Morefield added, when referencing Kaiser’s ability to step up in the big moment. “It’s carried over to now. And she keeps getting better each and every time. Her points and her production [tonight] is really what kept us in it.”
The win moves the Crusaders to 3-0 overall, while Schreiner, who entered having won three of its last four, drops to 3-5.
How it happened
Schreiner scored the game’s first points, on Andrea Salazar’s layup with 9:35 in the opening quarter. Then the Crusader defense took over, holding the Mountaineers scoreless for the next four minutes and 55 seconds, as Schreiner turned the ball over three times, and did not convert on its next seven shots. That gave way to a 10-0 run for UMHB, the Crusaders’ largest scoring spurt of the contest.
But Schreiner navigated its way back into the contest, taking advantage of six missed layups from UMHB, and a string of solid shooting from its offense. By halftime, the Crusader lead had dwindled to two, 34-32.
“Coach Stephens is doing a great job with that program,” Morefield commented. “With their pressing [defense] and mixing up different things, she’s done a great job of making that program very competitive. A lot of credit goes to her.”
It was very much back-and-forth down the stretch of the second half, with Schreiner outsourcing UMHB by the same point total in both the second and third quarters, 16-14. It tied the game at 48 as the final quarter began, both teams having shot 38.5 percent or better from the field in the third.
But by the five-minute mark of the fourth, Schreiner had placed itself very much in control, leading by six, the largest lead for either team in the second half. The Mountaineers did not put together a quick scoring run or even score very consistently in those first five minutes. In fact, they went over three minutes without points between the 9:34 and 6:24 mark. But Schreiner continued stopping UMHB’s offensive attack, putting the Cru in a precarious position as the final charge came around in the game’s concluding minutes.
“We started guarding and doing the basic things we needed to do defensively, regardless of the opponent,” Morefield said. “That last five minutes I think our focus was better than it was in the 35 minutes before.”
That they did, slowing down Schreiner’s offense to the point that the hosts connected on just three of their final nine shots coming out of UMHB’s timeout at the 5:06 mark.
“I think it was a reality check when you’re down by six,” Morefield said. “The whole game, we kept a small lead, but then you go down by six, and you realize, ‘We’d better lock in or we’re on the verge of this not ending up in our favor.’”
The Crusaders soon closed the gap, starting with Faux’s jump-shot that tied it at 56, then a pair of free throws from Rosborough, which gave UMHB a 58-56 lead. It all led up to Kaiser’s game-winner as the visitors from Belton passed the non-conference road test, even on a night in which they went 0-for-11 on three-point attempts.
“You have to find other ways to win sometimes,” Morefield said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we found other ways to win.
“We got the ball to Catherine and we dominated the glass [with 22 offensive rebounds] for 19 points off our missed shots. I think we have better team balance than what we’ve had. We don’t have to focus on one or two areas only.”
Stat Leaders
Points: Arieona Rosborough (17), Catherine Kaiser (15), Ashley Faux (14)
Rebounds: Ashley Faux (9), Jaycie Brisco (9), Arieona Rosborough (8), Addy Self (8)
Assists: Payton Hicks (5), Jaycie Brisco (4), Arieona Rosborough (2)
Up Next
UMHB opens the ASC slate on the road, facing Concordia (TX) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Austin. Concordia is 2-3 overall.
2 Replies to “Kaiser’s game-winner lifts No. 13 UMHB women’s basketball to win at Schreiner”