SPOKANE, Wash. — After suffering a 64-50 loss at 10th-ranked Whitman in the opener of their Pacific Northwest trip, UMHB women’s basketball answered the defeat with a victory Friday night. An offensive surge in the fourth quarter paved the way to a 64-49 win at Whitworth, as The Cru heads back to Belton with a 7-2 record.
UMHB held Whitworth to just five points in the fourth quarter and closed the game on a 15-5 run, earning the program’s second-ever win over the Pirates.
Key Player
Freshman forward Karlee Cronk was incredibly efficient for UMHB, scoring a career-high 13 points in 28 minutes. She did so by shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, along with a 4-of-6 mark at the free throw line, leading The Cru in efficiency, at 22.0. Cronk, a Lubbock native, also grabbed six rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end, and contributed well defensively with a team-high four steals.
Key Moment
Though UMHB led convincingly, 40-23, at halftime, Whitworth erased much of that cushion in the third quarter, cutting The Cru’s lead to just 49-44 as part of a 21-9 run. UMHB’s counter in the final quarter saw the Pirates held scoreless for nearly eight minutes, with the Crusaders going on a 12-0 spurt en route to a game-sealing 61-44 advantage. UMHB shot 5-of-12 from the field in that span, a stark contrast to Whitworth’s 0-for-11.
Key Stat
UMHB controlled the glass in a major way, outrebounding the Pirates, 54-39. That included 22 offensive rebounds, the third-most in a game for The Cru this season, leading to 20 second-chance points.
Up Next
The Cru resumes non-conference play on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Belton, hosting No. 2 Wartburg at the Mayborn Campus Center. Wartburg is 8-0 overall and comes off a Final Four appearance last season.
Check back on TrueToTheCru.com and our social media pages later on Friday night for a more detailed postgame story, including insight from UMHB head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir.
