BELTON–Back on its home court, UMHB women’s basketball took down Sul Ross State in the final meeting between the two as conference foes, 90-74, as The Cru improved to 18-2 overall.
UMHB has now won 11 straight home games, dating back to an 89-45 win over LeTourneau on Jan. 27, 2023. The Cru is 6-0 inside the Mayborn Campus Center this season, and scored 90 or more points in a game for the fifth time this season.
It was a much-needed bounce-back performance after a challenging road trip to East Texas a week ago that saw UMHB fall to ETBU in its first conference loss of the year, and beat LeTourneau by just seven points. The offensive production was limited in both contests, as the Crusaders were held to 65 points or fewer in consecutive games for the first time this season.
Offense was of no issue against the Lobos on Thursday night, however, as five players scored in double figures and UMHB converted on 10 3-pointers. It marked the third time in 2023-24 that the Crusaders tallied 10 or more 3-pointers in a contest, and Lauren Baker and Ella Hartmann each tallied three apiece.
Baker finished as the Crusaders’ high-scorer, with a career-high 21 points in the victory. Hartmann also recorded a career-high, as the freshman scored 11 points and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Jaycie Brisco recorded the first double-double of her UMHB career, with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Both were also career-bests for the junior guard from Snook, Texas, who made her 11th start of the season.
SRSU scored the game’s first four points but UMHB soon countered, and took its first lead, 8-6, on Baker’s first 3-pointer of the evening. The Cru quickly took control, soon going up 12-6 on a jumper from Brisco with 6:42 left in the first quarter.
Another jumper from Brisco nearly four minutes later gave UMHB its first double-digit lead of the contest, as the Crusaders went up 22-12. Though SRSU cut that advantage to six, UMHB led 27-18 after the opening 10 minutes.
UMHB opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run, and began pulling away from SRSU within that span, going up 34-18 on a pair of Ashley Faux free throws. It was The Cru’s largest lead of the first half, and Josie Bruder sent UMHB into halftime up by 14, 49-35, on a 3-pointer from the left wing with six seconds to go.
SRSU’s toughness kept the Lobos within contention early in the third, but a 9-0 run from UMHB midway through gave The Cru a comfortable 21-point advantage as Alexis Carmosino’s 3-pointer fell through the net off a well-placed pass from Brisco. The opponents exchanged scores down the stretch of the quarter, with UMHB maintaining an 18-point lead entering the final 10 minutes.
The lead widened to as many as 23 points on two occasions in the fourth quarter, with Ella Hartmann’s 3-pointer with 3:30 remaining putting UMHB up, 87-64. SRSU outscored The Cru, 21-19, in the final quarter
One of the more memorable moments of the contest happened in the game’s final seconds. Junior guard Makayla Ward, who has fought through injuries for the majority of her college career, saw the court for the first time this season. She scored on a layup after grabbing an offensive rebound with under 30 seconds remaining, marking her first points of the year, as the entire Crusader bench rose to their feet in excitement.
Thursday’s contest counted as a non-conference game due to SRSU currently being in the transition process to NCAA Division II. As a result, it is the last time the two will play as conference opponents for the foreseeable future. UMHB remains in first place in the ASC standings, with a 10-1 conference record.
The Cru resumes league play against Howard Payne at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in Belton. Admission is free. The Yellow Jackets are 7-14 overall and 3-10 in the ASC, coming off a 59-56 win at Concordia (TX) on Thursday night.
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