COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — It started with a first quarter in which Colorado College seemingly couldn’t miss from 3-point range. And the hosts carried that momentum through the next 30 minutes, outscoring UMHB in all four quarters on Friday afternoon.
It added up to an 81-58 win for CC, as the Crusaders suffered their first loss of the season after opening with three straight victories. UMHB (3-1) now turns its attention to Saturday’s 3 p.m. CT duel against Nebraska Wesleyan.
“I think we needed that game,” UMHB head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir said postgame. “Colorado College is a very tough team who has a ton of weapons. They play well together as a team and aside from the fact that they can shoot, they move the ball and rebound hard.
“They were exposing us on defense early and we certainly have a lot to work on. Tomorrow is a good opportunity for us to show how we can respond to adversity!”
The offensive efficiency from the Tigers in the first quarter set the tone, as CC shot 11-of-17, and 10-of-13 from 3-point range, over the opening 10 minutes. The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead within the first 63 seconds, and expanded the advantage to double-digits, 17-6, on Isa Nelson’s 3-pointer at the 6:36 mark. While UMHB held the Tigers below 20 points in each of the next three quarters, CC put up 34 points in the opening quarter, burying UMHB in an early 34-17 hole.
A 6-0 run from The Cru, highlighted by a play in which Remi Adeleke deflected a CC pass, sprinted upcourt, and took a pass from Katelen Brooks for a layup, cut the deficit to 14. Adeleke’s transition layup came with 6:35 to go until halftime, and by the 5:00 mark, Jaycie Brisco’s 3-pointer brought UMHB within 13. But that was as close as the Crusaders got. The Tigers went on an 8-0 run, and pushed their lead back to 21. UMHB’s offense simply couldn’t keep up, shooting just 1-of-5 from the field with five turnovers in the final 4:30 of the second quarter.
CC kept the pressure on in the second half, narrowly outscoring The Cru, 30-25, over the final two quarters. UMHB brought the deficit back to 14 at the end of a 6-0 spurt midway through the third, but just as the Tigers had done in the second, they answered with a momentum-building defensive stretch. The Cru went over four minutes without scoring, and CC’s lead widened to 21 once again. The Tigers led by as many as 28 points in the fourth, shooting 6-of-10 from the field over the last 10 minutes.
Brisco had yet another productive rebounding effort for UMHB, pulling down a team-high 10 boards. It marked her third-straight performance with a double-digit rebounding total, as she now averages 12.5 per game. Amillion Fowler put up 13 points and five assists in 31 minutes, with all three being season-highs for the junior forward.
Preseason All-American Zoe Tomlinson led CC with a 19-point, 16-rebound double-double, which included a 9-of-11 mark at the free throw line. Kayla Mackel tallied 25 points for the Tigers, with 20 of those coming in the opening half.
A look at tomorrow’s opponent
Nebraska Wesleyan is 0-5, searching for its first win since Jan. 25, 2023. NWU is coming off an 0-21 campaign last season, and the program’s rebuilding effort is under the direction of Jim Wiedie, who is in his first year as head coach. Wiedie was previously on staff at Division I Omaha, and before that, left the University of Findlay (Division II) as the program’s all-time winningest head coach. NWU is led by freshman guard Jada Smith, who averages 15.0 PPG, and junior guard Tessa Skelton, who had 13 points against Pacific Lutheran on Friday.
