Above photo: Adyson James had a team-high 12 points for UMHB in Wednesday’s win at Schreiner (Photo by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru/LukeZayasMedia)
KERRVILLE, Texas — It’s become a sort of trend through the first three games of the season for UMHB women’s basketball. The start may be slow, but the second half is when The Cru really seems to shine, with its defense taking charge and the offense finding consistency.
On Wednesday afternoon against Schreiner, that pattern was seen. It started with a less-than-stellar nine-point first quarter, as the Crusaders shot just 3-of-12 from the field. Things got better in the second—they outscored the Mountaineers, 15-13—but by halftime, Schreiner still led, 26-24. Then came the second half, and the momentum flipped. UMHB put 32 points on the board to Schreiner’s 17, holding the hosts to just six points over the final 10 minutes, as The Cru emerged with its third-straight road win, 56-43.
It is just the fourth 3-0 start for the program since its Division III era began over 25 years ago.
“I’m really proud of our bounce-back and our defensive effort after getting off to an extremely slow start,” UMHB head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir said postgame. “We need to figure out a lot on offense. We have the pieces to the puzzle but need to be quicker to get into a good flow on offense and start making simple plays. Being scrappy and getting rebounds on both ends of the floor helped us a lot. I’m looking forward to building from here.”
Adyson James, in her first year with the program after transferring in from Division I Nicholls State, led The Cru in scoring for the second consecutive game with 12 points. James shot 5-of-11 from the field with six rebounds. And Jaycie Brisco, the Crusaders’ play-making guard, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds along with 10 points in her first double-double of the season.
The game’s opening minutes were particularly challenging on both ends of the floor; UMHB struggled to score while simultaneously giving Schreiner open looks when the Mountaineers had possession. It combined for a scoring drought of nearly four-and-a-half minutes and a 9-0 deficit as Schreiner’s Kiara Green connected on a 3-pointer with 6:53 in the opening quarter. UMHB’s first lead came with 5:11 left in the second, when Karlee Cronk’s 3-pointer—just 11 seconds after she scored on a layup—put The Cru in front, 20-19.
Schreiner took back the lead with 4:14 left before Josie Bruder countered for The Cru, putting UMHB in the lead, 24-23. That advantage remained until just seconds before the halftime buzzer, when Jaydee Zamora’s 3-pointer sent the Mountaineers into the break with a two-point lead.
The opening minutes of the second half had some resemblance to the first, with a 3-pointer from Brisco being UMHB’s lone points in the first three minutes. But The Cru’s key run of the second half came shortly after in the form of an 11-2 spurt that took UMHB from a deficit of two to a 38-31 lead by the 2:33 mark on Katelen Brooks’ 3-pointer.
The Crusaders never trailed again, maintaining at least a two-possession lead through the entirety of the fourth quarter. UMHB scored 10 of the game’s final 11 points en route to its 13-point win, denying the Mountaineers easy scoring opportunities down the stretch. Schreiner finished the game with 12 straight missed shots from the field, eight of which were 3-point attempts.
Up Next
UMHB now has a nine-day break before tipping off at Colorado College on Nov. 29. The Crusaders will also face Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 30 before returning to Belton for the Dec. 4 home opener against Trinity (TX).
