Women’s basketball dominates in strong first half against LeTourneau
BELTON- After taking a six-point loss to ETBU on Thursday night, the UMHB women’s basketball team bounced back on Saturday afternoon, closing out a five-game homestand with a dominant 89-45 victory.Â
UMHB is now 14-5 overall, and 9-3 in the American Southwest Conference. The Crusaders are tied for second in league play with UT-Dallas. Hardin-Simmons, at 12-0, remains in first place.
It took a few minutes for the Crusaders to gain separation, with Ashley Faux giving UMHB an early 5-2 lead on a pair of made shots, but LeTourneau still in striking distance at the 4:23 mark of the first quarter, when Alyssa Hall cut UMHB’s lead to 13-9 on a short-range jump-shot. But The Cru closed the opening quarter on a 16-0 scoring spurt, leading 29-9 after the first 10 minutes.
UMHB then outscored the Yellowjackets 25-6 in the second quarter, en route to a 54-15 advantage by halftime. Faux had all 12 of her points in the first two quarters of play, and as a team, UMHB shot 40 percent from the field. LeTourneau struggled greatly on the offensive end, including a 1-for-16 mark in the second that allowed the Crusaders an enormous halftime lead.
The Crusaders, under interim head coach Kendra Foreman, outscored their opposition 22-19 in the third, and 13-11 in the fourth quarter. Though the LeTourneau offense cut down on its turnover number in the second half, the Yellowjackets still ended up with 31 turnovers, leading to 35 of UMHB’s points. The Cru led by 46 at multiple points throughout the fourth quarter, including with 25 seconds left when Kylie Wolsey converted a jumper.
A total of 25 players saw the court for UMHB on Saturday, 16 of whom contributed to the 89 total points, which marked UMHB’s highest scoring effort of the season.
UMHB stat leaders
Points: Arieona Rosborough (15), Ashley Faux (12), Lauren Baker (9)
Rebounds: Aja Holmes (7), Arieona Rosborough (5), Jaycie Brisco (5), Kirsten Zaruba (5)
Assists: Payton Hicks (5), Catalina Cortez (3)
Team shooting percentages: 33.3% FG, 29.2% 3-point, 63.8% FT
Men’s basketball defeats LeTourneau 75-74 in overtime thriller
BELTON- The UMHB men’s basketball team went over four minutes without a made field goal in Saturday’s five-minute overtime period against LeTourneau. But the Crusaders came up with scores when they counted most.
With 46 seconds left, Josiah Johnson connected on a baseline jumper for the Cru, cutting the three point deficit to just one. And then on UMHB’s final offensive possession, with just a few ticks left on the clock, DJ Kane stepped up with a jumper, swishing the ball through the net, giving UMHB a 75-74 lead. LeTourneau’s response never came, with 1.1 seconds left. The Yellowjackets threw the ball out of bounds on the ensuing inbounds pass, giving UMHB its eighth straight win.
The Crusaders are now 15-4, 10-2 in the American Southwest Conference. With UT-Dallas’ four-point win at Ozarks on Saturday, the Comets remain in first place in the league, with UMHB firmly in second.
The first half saw three lead changes, though LeTourneau raced out to an 18-9 lead with 11:46 left. Even as UMHB began a rally, tying the score at 18 apiece on Luke Feely’s layup two minutes later, and eventually claiming the lead, the Yellowjackets stayed in contention. They cut the deficit to one, 24-23, with four minutes remaining on John Argue’s fast-break layup.
That was the last time LeTourneau scored in the opening half, with the Crusaders taking all the momentum in the arena with them into the locker room at halftime, closing the first 20 minutes on a 10-0 run for a 34-23 lead.
Then the Yellowjackets responded. Warren Richardson connected on a pair of three-pointers that began the second half, and Jackson Mayes’ jumper with 9:13 left sliced UMHB’s lead to a single possession for the first time since the 3:18 mark of the first half. The Cru then extended the advantage to six, but Blaine Walker stepped up for LeTourneau, with consecutive three-pointers. Deonte Jackson’s layup and free throw that followed Walker’s second three put the Yellowjackets back in front. UMHB’s double-digit halftime lead had been erased.Â
The Cru stayed in the fight, tying the score twice, but never regaining the lead in regulation. In fact, it was not until Kane’s jump-shot fell through with 1.1 seconds left of overtime that UMHB found itself leading LeTourneau. In a rematch of last year’s ASC Championship game, that ended up being enough for the hosts to escape the upset.
LeTourneau, though competitive throughout ASC play this season, is now 6-7 in the league and in sixth place in the conference standings.
UMHB stat leaders
Points: Josiah Johnson (23), Ty Prince (23), Nathan Stolz (9), D.J. Kane (9)
Rebounds: Ty Prince (11), Luke Feely (9), Nathan Stolz (3)
Assists: Luke Feely (2), Zachary Engels (2), Kyle Wright (2), Gibson Hearne (2)
Team shooting percentages: 42.6% FG, 9.1% 3-point, 78.9% FT
Up Next
UMHB men’s and women’s basketball hits the road and heads west in the upcoming week, battling Sul Ross State in Alpine, Texas, on Thursday before traveling to Howard Payne in Brownwood, Texas, on Saturday afternoon.
