UMHB women's basketball falls in disappointing 77-54 loss at Texas Lutheran

SEGUIN, Texas — The hope was that coming off an 10-day holiday break, with the majority of the roster healthy, and just 12 days removed from an upset of No. 2 Wartburg, UMHB women’s basketball would resume non-conference play with a step in the right direction.

But the opposite played out inside Memorial Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon in a game where things slowly went south and never really improved for the visitors from Belton. Texas Lutheran (6-2) made double the amount of field goals, had 15 more points off turnovers, and out-rebounded UMHB by 11 as the Bulldogs controlled the fourth quarter, winning 77-54.

The 23-point final margin tied UMHB’s loss to Colorado College earlier in the season for the largest deficit in a loss for the 8-4 Crusaders thus far. Their 15 made field goals were a season-low, and the 25 turnovers were second only to UMHB’s 27 against TLU in a 66-56 win on Dec. 4. 36% of TLU’s scoring output, 28 points in total, came off UMHB turnovers.

“This was a tough game – TLU truly out-worked us,” UMHB head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir said. “Beat us on the boards, dove on the floor first, and played hard the entire time. We get a chance to see how we respond in two days, but this is not the effort I expect from Cru women’s basketball and we are going to change what we need to in order to get back to playing tough and giving great effort.

“It’s a long season and every day is an opportunity to step up. That starts with practice tomorrow.”

TLU took the lead early, scoring back-to-back layups off turnovers as part of a 10-3 run that put the Bulldogs up, 16-8, by the 3:33 mark of the first quarter. Turnovers were a steady source of momentum for TLU in the opening half, with UMHB’s eight first-quarter turnovers overshadowing a solid 6-of-11 shooting mark as the Bulldogs held a 19-16 lead. By the 6:06 mark of the second quarter, 12 of TLU’s 26 points had come immediately after a turnover by the Crusaders.

But before it reached that point, UMHB put together its best offensive run of the afternoon, answering TLU’s spurt with one of its own to knot the score at 16 apiece. It started with Jaycie Brisco’s long pass up the right sideline to Josie Bruder, who promptly knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing. Then Katelen Brooks converted on a jumper from the baseline and was fouled, making the free throw to bring UMHB within two. Adyson James’ layup at the 1:01 mark tied the score for the first—and last—time in the contest. TLU, who was 0-for-6 shooting during that stretch, found a 3-point opportunity after an offensive rebound, and the long-range shot from Kailee Mulkey sent the hosts into the second quarter with the lead.

The second quarter also played into TLU’s favor, with the Bulldogs putting together yet another key run, this one featuring seven straight points and a 13-point lead. Defensive breakdowns on the part of UMHB contributed to 10 of TLU’s 19 points in the quarter coming in the paint, and while The Cru scored five of the final eight points before halftime, they still faced a nine-point deficit when the third quarter began.

The margin grew wider coming out of halftime. UMHB, who had shot just seven free throws in the entirety of the first half, continually got to the charity stripe in the third quarter, as The Cru doubled its first-half free throw total in the 10 minutes out of halftime. But they went just 5-of-14 in that stretch, a difficult break for a team trailing by double-digits for much of the quarter.

TLU outscored UMHB, 18-15, in the third, yet fully took control in the fourth quarter. Things unraveled even further offensively for The Cru in the final 10 minutes, while the Bulldogs’ capitalized with a scoring surge of their own. UMHB shot just 1-of-15 from the field in the fourth, going the final 7:55 without a made field goal. Aside from Jaycie Brisco’s layup to cut the deficit to 15, UMHB’s only source of points came on free throws, where the Crusaders were 8-of-12.

That wasn’t enough, especially with a handful of defensive breakdowns and well-executed half-court offense from TLU, to keep it close. The Bulldogs continued turning UMHB’s turnovers into offense of their own, with 14 of their 21 fourth-quarter points coming off a Crusader turnover. With 1:48 left, Sarahi Jones stepped in front of a UMHB pass on the perimeter and intercepted it, passing the ball to the left side of the court before it found its way to Angelina Sotelo, who drove through UMHB’s defense from the left wing for a layup and a 25-point lead. The 75-50 advantage was TLU’s largest of the game, as the Bulldogs coasted to their sixth win of the season, and their first since Nov. 25.

Sunday’s game was the first of three non-conference contests for UMHB this week. The Crusaders hit the road on Tuesday for a 2 p.m. duel at St. Thomas (TX), a 2-5 program out of the SCAC. The Cru then hosts UC-Santa Cruz (5-11) in Belton on Friday at 2 p.m.