Bruder's career-high 25 points highlight UMHB women's basketball's road win over St. Thomas

Photo of Josie Bruder by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru/LukeZayasMedia

HOUSTON — In the aftermath of Sunday’s disappointing 23-point loss at Texas Lutheran, UMHB head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir made it clear that she expected more from her team, specifically in the effort category.

So two days later, back on the court for another non-conference matchup against a yet another SCAC opponent, the Crusaders answered that challenge. Their intensity, especially defensively, was present from the moment the first whistle blew.

A 21-2 scoring run in the opening 10 minutes put UMHB in control, leading to an eventual 61-49 victory over St. Thomas (TX) on Tuesday afternoon. UST is the sixth UMHB opponent to be held below 50 points this season, as the Crusaders improved to 9-4 overall.

“Our defense in the first quarter set us up for the game,” Novak-Lenoir said postgame. “We did a good job with steals, deflections, and contesting shots. Josie Bruder hitting some 3s helped us open up the floor and we did a good job finding her when she had the hot hand. We are still continuing to grow and work together, [and] hoping to keep growing into the new year, sharpening up over these last two games before conference play!”

The first quarter run provided UMHB’s greatest surge of momentum at any point, quickly widening the gap between the Crusaders and Celts. Bruder was the spark, hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the first 67 seconds for a 6-0 lead. Then came a jumper from Katelen Brooks and Rachel Okoye’s five straight points, pushing UMHB out to a 13-0 lead.

Part of that was UST’s struggles against The Cru’s 1-3-1 zone defense, leading to several deflected passes and rushed 3-point shots, few of which found their mark. In the opening two quarters, the Celts were a mere 3-of-23 from beyond the arc, and no better from inside, shooting just 17.2%.

Even after UST got on the board with Macie Whitfield’s layup at the 6:10 mark, the Celts went scoreless for the rest of the quarter. Okoye had three of UMHB’s next five points, and The Cru closed the opening period in the same way they started it; with a 3-pointer from Bruder.

Bruder, who made her first start since the Dec. 4 win over Trinity, was at the forefront of UMHB’s offensive consistency. The junior forward had the hot hand through the opening half, tallying 20 of The Cru’s 35 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. With her smooth outside shot, Bruder finished with a career-high 25 points, adding another 3-pointer in the third quarter for a 26-point lead.

In the second quarter alone, a stretch that saw UMHB’s lead never dip below 15, Bruder had 11 of The Cru’s 13 points. That included a 3-pointer with 1:45 left from the top of the arc and a baseline jumper with 3 seconds remaining for a 34-15 halftime advantage.

The momentum carried over into the second half, as layups from Brooks and Okoye opened the third. In a quarter that saw UMHB outscore UST, 17-11, the Crusaders closed on a 5-2 run, with layups from Adyson James and Jaycie Brisco on consecutive possessions giving UMHB its largest lead of the afternoon, a 51-23 advantage.

As Novak-Lenoir went deeper into the bench in the fourth quarter, UST found more of a rhythm offensively. The Celts connected on five 3s against the UMHB zone, and shot above 35% in a quarter for the first time in the contest, going 9-of-15. UST narrowed the deficit to 12 on a jumper from former Crusader Kenna Gibson, but the 7-0 run came after Mia Lozoya’s 3-pointer with 2:23 left, which had pushed UMHB’s lead to 19.

The Cru’s victory was never in question as the final 10 minutes unfolded, as UMHB shot for its second-highest percentage in a game this season (41.1%). Their 8-of-21 mark (38.1%) from 3-point range was also the best 3-point percentage in a contest so far.

UMHB now turns its attention to its final non-conference home game of 2024-25 against UC-Santa Cruz at 2 p.m. CT on Friday. UCSC is 5-11 overall, with seven of those losses coming by single digits. Friday will be the second time in program history that the Banana Slugs have made the trip to Belton, having also played The Cru on Jan. 2, 2023 in a 60-49 UMHB win.