For the fourth time since the 2018-19 season, the UMHB women’s basketball team is NCAA Tournament bound, and the season has come full circle for The Cru, as head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir’s battle-tested squad heads into a first-round matchup against a familiar foe in Trinity on Friday night.
Trinity was UMHB’s season-opening opponent back on Nov. 11, and in that contest, the Tigers emerged with a 84-74 win, as the Crusaders responded by winning 16 straight games that followed.
This marks the first NCAA Tournament matchup between the in-state programs, who have each found their fair share of success within recent history. Trinity is coming off a 2022-23 season in which the Tigers reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and UMHB has won at least two games in each of its three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Setting the Stage
Mary Hardin-Baylor (21-6, 12-4 ASC) vs Trinity (22-5, 15-1 SCAC)
Date/Time: Friday, March 1, 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: Abilene, Texas (Mabee Complex)
Broadcast: The contest will be broadcasted on hsuathletics.com.
Live stats: Live stats can be found on hsuathletics.com
Admission: Tickets are $15 for adults, and $10 for children. By them online here.
The Series
UMHB and Trinity have played 16 times since the 2003-2004 season, with each of those contests coming in non-conference play. The Crusaders are 1-15 in the series, with their lone win coming on Nov. 23, 2010 in Belton, as Lindsay Eaton led UMHB to an 82-62 victory in the home-opener of that season. Trinity holds an eight-game win streak within the series, having added the eighth victory in this season’s season-opener in Marshall, Texas. The Tigers outscored UMHB, 36-16, in the fourth quarter, and came away with the previously-mentioned 84-74 defeat of the Crusaders. This contest also marks the second time, this year’s previous meeting being the first, that UMHB and Trinity have played outside of Belton or San Antonio.
Summing up the season thus far
Trinity: The Tigers entered the year with a handful of question marks after graduating four key contributors, three of whom started 22 or more games, after the deep tournament run last season. But the Tigers, led by 12th year head coach Cameron Hill won four striaght games out of the gate before dropping an overtime duel at HSU, 92-88. Trinity then went on another four-game streak before hitting a skid as leading scorer and rebounder Natalie Anderson went down with an injury. The Tigers struggled to pivot initially, dropping three straight, before bouncing back in a 11-point win over previously-undefeated Framingham State in Las Vegas. Trinity’s lone conference loss came on Jan. 5 at Colorado College, as the Tigers have since won 12 consecutive contests, and claimed their fourth straight SCAC Tournament title in Sunday’s 63-57 win over Colorado College in Shreveport, Louisiana.
UMHB: The Cru got off to a fast start, putting the early loss to Trinity in the rearview mirror as they picked up wins over eventual NCAA Tournament teams in Willamette, Millsaps, and Hardin-Simmons. Despite playing five of their first six games away from Belton, UMHB was 5-1 in mid-December, and found success with two wins over Millsaps and Berry in New York City just before Christmas. The 93-89 overtime win at Hardin-Simmons on Jan. 11 was critical to UMHB’s tournament resume, and The Cru sat at 16-1 with eight regular season games left. Unfortunately, UMHB struggled through a difficult stretch in the weeks that followed. Four losses in an eight-game span followed, as The Cru claimed the No. 2 seed in the ASC Tournament. That meant a trip to Abilene, where UMHB beat Ozarks in the semifinal round before dropping an 84-74 result to HSU in the championship game. The Crusaders were selected to the NCAA Tournament via a Pool C, or at-large, bid.
Players to Watch
Jaycie Brisco, UMHB: A consistent defensive threat to opposing offenses, Brisco ranks third in the league in steals per game (2.2), and leads the team in steals (56) while also averaging 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. Brisco also has 66 assists on the year and a solid assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.57. The junior guard from Snook, Texas was named Honorable Mention All-ASC on Tuesday.
Josie Napoli, Trinity: One of two starters who returned from last year’s squad, Napoli is the Tigers’ only 27-game starter this season. The junior guard from Beaverton, Oregon is averaging 15.8 points per game, and has a team-high 106 assists while averaging 32.0 minutes per game, the most of anyone on the roster. Napoli has significant NCAA Tournament experience and is also a shooter with tremendous range, making her tough to defend.
Ashley Faux, UMHB: Winning the rebounding battle will be key on Friday, and Faux enters the tournament as The Cru’s leading rebounder, with 6.4 rebounds per game. The only player on UMHB’s roster to have started in all 27 games this season, Faux is one of just three current players to have seen action in UMHB’s previous NCAA Tournament run in 2022, and brings maturity and experience to the lineup. The Frisco, Texas native also averages 7.2 points per game.
Jamie Ruede, Trinity: A freshman from Boerne, Texas, Ruede has stepped up time and time again, and averages 22.5 minutes per game entering the tournament. She averages 13.3 points per game, and shoots 39.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc while also shooting 89.7 percent at the free throw line. She had 15 points in 14 minutes in the first matchup against UMHB.
Arieona Rosborough, UMHB: The ASC Defensive Player of the Year, Rosborough is also UMHB’s go-to scorer on the offensive end, and leads The Cru with 19.5 points per game. A dynamic guard, the Mansfield, Texas native averages 29.6 minutes per game, and shoots 41.8 percent from the field. In the first meeting with Trinity this season, Rosborough tallied 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Maggie Robbins, Trinity: Robins has a veteran presence on the court, and is versatile for Trinity. She enters the tournament shooting 43.9 percent from the floor, and has a team-best 60 steals this season. Amongst guards, Robbins is first on the team in offensive rebounds, with 38, and has a tenacious defensive style that creates difficult matchups for opposing ballhandlers.
Postseason Success
UMHB’s program history includes three NCAA Tournament appearances, and in each of those appearances, The Cru has reached the third round. In fact, UMHB is 6-2 in its previous three tournament runs, all of which have come since the 2018-19 season. Only three players on the roster have NCAA Tournament experience, in Ashley Faux, Lauren Baker, and Meagan Johnson. Of those three, Faux was the only one to have started in all three tournament games (she made 29 starts on the year), as UMHB reached the third round before falling to Transylvania, 63-58.
Numbers Watch
- With a win on Friday, UMHB would have 22 or more wins in a season for just the fourth time in program history, as this year’s win total is currently tied with the 21-win season in 2009-10 for fourth all-time.
- With 2,059 points scored this season, The Cru is has surpassed the point total from the 2021-22 team (which also reached the NCAA Tournament) and now ranks fourth in program history for points in a season.
- UMHB needs 12 more made field goals to surpass the 2021-22 squad for field goals in a season (fourth all-time in UMHB history), as The Cru currently has 743, and is shooting 39.4 percent.
- The Cru is currently 0.7 away from tying the program-high for steals per game in a season, as UMHB is averaging 12.0. The 2022-23 team set a new record by averaging 12.7 steals per contest a year ago.
- Arieona Rosborough needs just 21 points to tie Hannah Holt for third in program history in points in a season, as Holt had 470 during the 2019-20 campaign. Rosborough currently has 449, and is also only 30 points away from Holt’s single-season mark of 479 set in 2018-19, which ranks second in UMHB history.
- Rosborough is currently averaging 19.5 points per game, which is 0.2 higher than the single-season record of 19.3 set by Landie Thompson in 2010-11.
Packed crowd expected in Abilene
Crowds have come out in full-force to support HSU women’s basketball throughout this season, so a large crowd is anticipated to be on hand inside the Mabee Complex for these first two rounds of tournament play. On the year, the HSU is averaging an attendance of 590 per game, one of the higher numbers in D-III women’s basketball. But even more notably, HSU brought in back-to-back crowds of 1,000+ at the ASC Tournament, drawing 1,405 on Friday, and 1,215 for Saturday’s championship game.
Hardin-Simmons, Occidental, also set to meet in Abilene
The second first-round game of the day in Abilene tips off at 8 p.m. CT between Hardin-Simmons and Occidental. HSU is the champion out of the ASC, while Occidental is in the tournament for the first time since 2011 as the champion out of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).
Led by fifth-year seniors Paris Kiser, Parris Parmer, Samantha Tatum, and Anna Fanelli, HSU has found plenty of success throughout this season, with a 23-4 record, including a 13-1 mark at home. The lone loss came to UMHB on Jan. 11 in OT, as HSU otherwise rolled through the second half of ASC play. The Cowgirls lead the nation in points per game (85.3) and have a number of exceptional 3-point shooters whose combined performances make HSU the 12th-best team in the country in 3-point percentage (34.7%).
Occidental is in the midst of a historic year, with a 22-5 record, and took down La Verne and Cal Lutheran by single-digit margins in the SCIAC Tournament. Leading scorer Toni Thompson is fifth in the country in points per game (24.9) and comes off a 25-point performance in the SCIAC final win over Cal Lutheran. The Tigers, who hail from Los Angeles, California, are 2-0 on a neutral court this season, having won both of their games at the D3hoops.com Classic in late December.
Up Next
The winner of Friday’s two first-round matchups are set to face off on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT in Abilene for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
True To The Cru will be in Abilene covering the action, so be sure to follow along on TrueToTheCru.com, as well as on X/Twitter (@TrueToTheCru), Facebook (@TrueToTheCru), and Instagram (truetothecru).
