WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Jaycie Brisco put up a double-double, but a dismal second quarter proved to be too much for UMHB to overcome Thursday night, as No. 10 Whitman gained a lead and never let it go, defeating The Cru, 64-50.
Between the first, third, and fourth quarters, UMHB outscored the nationally-ranked Blues, 47-43. But in the 10 minutes before halftime, it was all Whitman, providing the game’s separating point. The Blues opened the quarter on a 19-0 run and held UMHB to just three points in the 10-minute span, including a nine-minute scoring drought, as Whitman took a 33-18 lead into the intermission.
Though UMHB came within eight points of the lead in the fourth quarter, there was just too much ground to make up against a high-quality Whitman squad. The Cru drops to 6-2, with both of its losses coming to teams currently ranked or recieving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25. Whitman is now 8-0 overall.
At the onset, the Crusaders kept pace with Whitman, initially going up 4-0 early on a pair of layups from Amillion Fowler and Jaycie Brisco. UMHB never trailed in the opening quarter, and took advantage of multiple scoring opportunities in transition, including a fast-break score from Karlee Cronk with 27 seconds left. On what turned out to be a three-point play, Adyson James rebounded a missed Whitman free throw and passed to Brisco, who lofted a long pass ahead of the Whitman defense to Cronk. The “and one” from Cronk put UMHB up 15-12 heading into the second quarter.
Then everything shifted. Despite continually pulling down offensive rebounds, UMHB couldn’t get shots to fall. The Cru was 0-for-5 from the field in the first two minutes, and things didn’t get better as Whitman’s offense surged. Layups bounced harmlessly off the rim, unwillingly to fall through, mid-range shots were off the mark, and the 3-point shooting, as it would for the rest of the game, struggled. UMHB was 1-for-7 from beyond the arc in the quarter, though ironically, that lone 3-pointer from Katelen Brooks with 49 seconds left was the only made shot for The Cru in that span. The Crusaders were 1-for-20 from the field in the second, a stark contrast from Whitman’s 8-of-15 mark. Christiane Carlisle connected on a game-tying 3-pointer 34 seconds into the quarter, and Carly Martin followed with a layup at the 7:35 mark for Whitman’s first lead. Martin, the only 20-point scorer for either team with 21, scored the Blues next 11 points, starting with her go-ahead layup. Her second 3-pointer with 4:15 left put Whitman ahead by double-digits, 26-15, for the first time.
That double-digit advantage held through the remainder of the second and the entirety of the third. Whitman opened the fourth by extending its lead to 19, but UMHB refused to give in. The Cru slowly chipped away, exchanging scores with the Blues as the clock wound down.
A layup and free throw from Fowler brought UMHB within 15. Two free throws from Brisco, after a made free throw from Whitman’s Avery Neal, cut the deficit to 14. With 3:46 to go, Brooks connected on her second 3-pointer of the evening, trimming the Whitman lead to 11. A 5-0 run from The Cru, sparked by a jumper from Cronk, a layup from Brisco, and a free throw from Brooks, then pulled the visitors from Belton to an eight-point deficit, trailing by single digits for the first time since the 4:15 mark of the second quarter.
There was 2:23 left in the contest at that point, and for as quick as the offense heated up down the stretch, it went ice cold until the final buzzer, just as it had in the second quarter. UMHB closed the game 0-for-6 from the field, while Whitman scored the game’s final six points and sealed its eighth straight win.
The offense struggled, but the defense’s performance in a hard-nosed, physical contest was amongst the positives in Thursday night’s duel. Against a Top 10 opponent, UMHB forced 21 turnovers, held Whitman to its lowest field goal percentage of the season (41.8%), and tallied 14 steals. They stayed aggressive on the boards as well, tallying 17 offensive rebounds.
| Box Score | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| UMHB (6-2) | 15 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 50 |
| Whitman (8-0) | 12 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 64 |
Game Notes
- Jaycie Brisco came through with her third double-double of the season, leading The Cru in both points (16) and rebounds (13). The senior guard tallied 10+ rebounds for the fifth time in eight games this season.
- Katelen Brooks set a new career-high in points, as the junior scored 13 off the bench. Her previous career-best came on Jan. 20, 2024, against Concordia (TX), when she put up 12 points.
- Whitman’s 21 turnovers were the most by the Blues this season, and just the fourth time since the start of 2023-24 that they turned the ball over 20 or more times in a game.
- UMHB has now forced at least 20 turnovers in seven of its eight games thus far and is averaging 20.9 turnovers forced per game.
- The Cru’s 50 points marked their lowest scoring total in a game since Jan. 25, 2024, in a 79-47 loss at ETBU. UMHB also shot just 26.1% from the field, marking their lowest shooting percentage in a game since going 25.7% from the field on Jan. 14, 2017 against Concordia.
- UMHB is now 1-2 all-time against Whitman, and 4-4 against the Northwest Conference.
Up Next
UMHB closes its trip to the Pacific Northwest on Friday night, facing Whitworth (3-2) in an 8 p.m. CT tip-off from Spokane, Washington. It will be the third time in program history The Cru has battled the Pirates.
