No. 16 UMHB women's basketball falls to No. 20 Puget Sound, 59-58, on last-second shot

SAN ANTONIO- The clock ticked under 20 seconds as Puget Sound inbounded the ball near midcourt, with a game-winning opportunity ahead. UMHB led 58-57, though, and in a game that had been marked by solid defense and offensive struggles, all the Crusaders really needed was a single stop on the defensive end to claim the victory.

But PS, ranked 20th in the nation, had other ideas. Katie Minnehan’s initial shot bounced off the rim and back into her hands and she dribbled to the perimeter, getting it to Jenai Ancheta, who passed it back to Minnehan with under 10 seconds. Then the ball went to Grace Pytynia-Hillier at the top of the three-point arc. The lane was open as Pytynia-Hillier drove to within 10 feet of the basket, and let her shot fly. It sank through the net with a tenth of a second left on the clock, winning the game, 59-58, for Puget Sound.

“We’ve talked about how one offensive rebound changes the game,” UMHB head coach Mark Morefield said. “We should have come up with the box-out [and gotten the rebound]. But we didn’t and gave them another opportunity.”

What a win for Puget Sound! Called a couple of thrilling games today including this fantastic finish for the Loggers. #d3hoops @PSwbasketball @casey_kush

We've got 3 games on Tiger Network tomorrow as this jam-packed basketball bonanza continues. @d3hoops @NorthwestConf pic.twitter.com/L82uFVdfbJ
— Brian Yancelson (@brian_yancelson) December 21, 2022

It was an especially tough pill to swallow for 16th-ranked UMHB, who sought a bounce-back performance following a disappointing 74-63 defeat to No. 3 Trinity Monday night. The Crusaders are now 7-3 overall, having lost three of their last five contests.

How it happened

With a slightly altered starting lineup, UMHB found success early, a stark difference from the Trinity loss in which UMHB went down 25-7 by the end of the opening quarter. Against the Loggers, UMHB forced a turnover within the game’s first minute, and at the 8:09 mark, freshman Catalina Cortez, in her first collegiate start, drained a three-pointer that gave the Crusaders a 3-0 lead.

“I think Cat provides a sense of calmness out there,” Morefield noted postgame.

Addy Self’s layup at the six-minute mark made it 5-3, and Lauren Baker’s three-pointer that followed extended the lead to 8-2. By the end of the opening quarter, UMHB led 11-6.

“We challenged them,” Morefield said. “We told them, ‘Our backs are against the wall, are we going to fight or run?’”

UMHB’s effort was certainly displayed, as the Cru outrebounded the opposition 11-5, and held PS to a 2-of-10 shooting mark in the opening period.

But PS countered with an exceptional second quarter, outscoring UMHB 27-15, as the Loggers converted on 11-of-18 shots, their highest shooting percentage of any of the game’s four quarters. A three-pointer from Pytynia-Hillier, whose play proved key on more possessions than just the game’s final one, cut the deficit to 18-14, and sparked a 17-4 run. Pytynia-Hillier accounted for seven of those points, as the Loggers took a 29-22 lead. With 49 seconds until halftime, that lead widened to nine points, the largest for either side at any point in the game.

Puget Sound’s full-court press, similar in nature to the sort of aggressive defense that Trinity threw at the Cru 24 hours prior, played no small role in that.

“We accepted the challenge early on,” Morefield said. “I think where things really got them back into the game ended up being two things.

“We weren’t executing our press break, which had worked for us in the first quarter, and then we stopped speed-dribbling past them. Instead, we were zig-zag dribbling, which is what they want you to do in a press.”

The third quarter did not follow suit for either squad in terms of scoring production. Defense took over, and points came at a premium. PS scored on its first possession, as Samantha Swartout extended the advantage to 35-26. But over four minutes of scoreless basketball followed for the Loggers, and the Crusaders did not have much success of their own. After Arieona Rosborough’s shot fell for UMHB at the 8:24 mark, neither team scored again until 5:31 remained on the clock, when Jaycie Brisco converted for the Cru, cutting the deficit to just five.

The offenses caught fire in the final 2:30, though, and UMHB found its first run of the second half, as Katelen Brooks, another freshman in the rotation, single-handedly put together a 6-0 run that saw the Crusaders take back the lead. A combined 16 points were scored in the last 150 seconds, and that carried over into the fourth, as Brooks again stepped up with a layup, erasing the 45-44 PS lead and giving UMHB a one-point advantage on the first possession of the quarter.

The margin never widened beyond five points in the final 10 minutes, with UMHB going up 56-51 with 2:30 remaining on Weade Adeleke’s free throw. The opponents exchanged scores back and forth, and the lead changed hands three times. But PS closed it with a statement, putting together a 6-0 run in the last 1:45 that erased UMHB’s lead, culminating in Pytnia-Hillier’s game-winning shot.

“At some point, there has to be a transfer of learning,” Morefield said. “We can’t have mental lapses.”

At the same time, UMHB was playing without two of its top-level post players in Catherine Kaiser and Meagan Johnson. Not to mention putting a number of young players on the floor, some of whom are still getting acquainted with the college level. Five freshmen saw action for the Cru Tuesday night, and even the older players on the roster are still learning to play together. Eight of the 13 who played for UMHB against PS are in their first year in the program.

“Some of that is probably youth too,” Morefield noted. “It doesn’t help when you have Catherine Kaiser and Meagan Johnson both out, who are our 1 and 2 centers. It doesn’t help that we’re a fairly young team. There are no senior leaders out there. Some of our older players are transfers. It doesn’t help us in tough situations. But it’s not an excuse.”

But Morefield is optimistic that despite the two-game losing skid, his team will soon right the ship once it finds a rhythm. They have displayed an ability to do so in recent years.

“Obviously we need to finish strong,” Morefield said. “We’re on a two-game losing streak. But we could go on a 15-game winning streak to close it out. Some coaches will say that trying to encourage the players, but that’s a reality for this program. We’ve shown it in the past.”

Up Next

UMHB hosts Piedmont and UC Santa Cruz on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, closing out the non-conference schedule in Belton. Both of those contests are set for 5 p.m. at the Mayborn Campus Center.

“We’re going to have to grow up a little bit,” Morefield said. “We are going to have to come back with renewed vigor. We can say 20 different things right now, but when the day is over, you have to go out and execute. You have to have a transfer of learning. We’re too talented to not be able to do those things.”