Season-high shooting performance lifts UMHB women's basketball to 83-59 win at Howard Payne

BROWNWOOD, Texas — Set to face the ASC’s top-scoring offense and the 18th-ranked team in the country on Saturday, it was important for UMHB to open its West Texas road trip in the right way on Thursday night.

The Cru (13-6, 2-1 ASC) answered the call inside the spacious atmosphere of the Brownwood Coliseum, sprinting out of the gate in a 21-2 run, controlling their ASC road opener from the onset. The lead grew to as many as 30 points as UMHB took down Howard Payne, 83-59.

It marks UMHB’s highest-scoring performance of the season, and just the second time The Cru has surpassed 80 points in 19 games. The victory is also The Cru’s seventh consecutive win over Howard Payne (4-15, 0-4 ASC), the last three of which have come in Katie Novak-Lenoir’s tenure as head coach.

The biggest storyline that emerged came on the offensive end, as UMHB converted on seven of its first 10 field goal attempts, and maintained that consistency throughout, even with the bench cleared well before the final buzzer.

“We did a good job of sharing the ball, and better shot selection than the last few weeks,” Novak-Lenoir said postgame. “I’m really happy with our positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Karlee Cronk, Sofia George, and Abby Levings gave some really good minutes and are growing every day. [We’re] hoping to take this momentum into Saturday!”

The Crusaders shot the ball remarkably well; far better, in fact, than they had in any of their 18 prior games this season. Going into Thursday night, UMHB’s season-high shooting percentage was 46.0%, recorded in the 73-54 win over UC-Santa Cruz on Jan. 3. Against HPU, The Cru went 54.7%, making 35-of-64 field goal attempts, including a third quarter that saw UMHB go 9-of-15.

Additionally, the Crusaders tallied assists on 21 of their 35 made field goals, with the assist total going down as the second-most in a single game for UMHB this season. Six of those assists came from Rachel Okoye—whose eight rebounds were also a team-high—along with four from Katelen Brooks.

The scoring came by committee, with five players in double figures for the first time this season. The balanced effort saw freshman Sofia George record a career-high with 11 points, reaching double digits on a right wing 3-pointer with 2:31 left, in addition to a perfect 4-of-4 day at the free throw line. Fellow freshman Karlee Cronk came off the bench for 22 minutes, and in that span, came through with a team-best 14 points, going 7-of-7 from the field with seven rebounds.

Amongst the starters, Okoye had 13 points—her third consecutive game with at least 13—and Adyson James and Brooks each tallied 11. All three shot 55.0% or better from the field.

There was little HPU could do on the defensive end to counteract The Cru’s offensive efficiency, as UMHB continually drove the ball into the lane, rather than settling for lower-percentage outside shots. That patient shot selection, along with numerous opportunities to push the pace off 13 steals, culminated in The Cru’s season-high offensive performance. 50 of UMHB’s 83 points were scored in the paint, including 36 on layups. The Cru went 18-of-24 on layups, including four from James and three from Cronk.

“We know sometimes we are undersized on the inside, but we have strength,” Novak-Lenoir said. “I’m proud of our team for utilizing it today.”

James and Okoye gave UMHB an early 4-0 lead before Brooks came up with back-to-back scores, connecting on a 3 from the left wing at the 7:41 mark. HPU head coach Presley Fisk immediately called a timeout with her team trailing 9-0, and yet the Yellow Jackets still struggled out of the brief stoppage.

After both sides traded a pair of empty possessions, James grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed 3 from Okoye and laid it in, followed by Joise Bruder’s jumper 45 seconds later. It wasn’t until the 5:36 mark of the opening quarter that HPU got on the board on a layup from Madison Clay, and then came another stretch of eight unanswered points for The Cru, who led 21-2 by the time Brooks’ layup fell through the net with 3:32 left.

While HPU steadily found more offense as the first half unfolded, hitting four 3s in the second quarter, UMHB kept its foot on the gas pedal. The Cru not only outscored the Yellow Jackets, 19-16, in the second, but closed the first half on a 7-2 run in which they converted on three straight shots.

Even in the superior offensive effort, UMHB’s defensive identity remained, holding an opponent below 60 points for the 11th time this season. That stood out in the third quarter especially, as The Cru held HPU to a 35.3% shooting mark in the 10-minute span, and followed it up by forcing six turnovers in the fourth. In total, HPU turned the ball over 19 times, leading directly to 25 of UMHB’s points.

The lead continued widening in the second half, reaching 76-46 on Abby Levings’ layup with 5:57 left. UMHB’s advantage was never in question through the final two quarters, as The Cru only added to its 45-25 halftime lead, outscoring the Yellow Jackets, 38-34.

The victory gives UMHB notable momentum heading into Saturday’s trip to Abilene. The Cru is looking to win consecutive regular season games at Hardin-Simmons for the second time in the last five seasons, and tips off at 1 p.m. against the Cowgirls. HSU is 16-3 overall and 2-1 in ASC play, led by guards Madison Williams (13.6 PPG) and Jacqueline Berry (13.5 PPG).