This Week
- UMHB enters its final road trip of the regular season, matching up with LeTourneau and ETBU for the second time in the last three weeks.
- The Cru is 8-4 on the road this season, and 2-0 away from Belton against ASC opponents.
- It marks the second straight road matchup in which UMHB faces a Top 25 opponent. On Feb. 1, UMHB battled No. 18 Hardin-Simmons in a 74-68 win in Abilene. ETBU comes into Saturday’s game ranked No. 25 nationally in the D3hoops.com Top 25 and No. 24 in the WBCA poll.
Storylines
- The stakes are incredibly high entering Saturday’s matchup, and that’s possibly the biggest storyline in Region 10 women’s basketball this week. ETBU is a perfect 6-0 in ASC play, and would clinch the conference’s regular season title with a win over The Cru, thus also locking up the No. 1 seed in the ASC Tournament and the right to host the semifinals and title game. With a UMHB win, in addition to a Cru win on Thursday at LeTourneau, UMHB would remain in the hunt for the regular season title and No. 1 seed, entering the final homestand against Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne with a 5-1 league record. They would need to win out (along with an ETBU win over LETU) to finish in a tie for first place with the Tigers.
- UMHB’s defensive identity has been a strength all year, and The Cru ranks No. 2 in the ASC in scoring defense, allowing just 58.7 points per game. The Crusaders are also No. 2 in steals per game amongst ASC teams, with 11.1 per contest.
- Junior guard Rachel Okoye has stepped up over the second half of this season on the offensive end, averaging 15.5 PPG in conference play and shooting a league-best 50% from the field against ASC opponents. She has scored in double figures in all four ASC games, including a season-best 22 points against ETBU on Jan. 23.
- Jaycie Brisco’s scoring average may have decreased in recent weeks, but the senior guard from Snook, Texas is contributing to the offense as a precise passer, leading The Cru with 64 assists this season. Brisco’s 3.8 assists/game in conference play rank second in the ASC, as does her 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- While not an incredibly high-scoring team, UMHB has been especially efficient on offense as of late, shooting 42.9% from the field against its four ASC opponents. That mark leads the league, though it is worth noting that The Cru has played two fewer games than everyone else in the conference at this point.
- Rebounding remains a primary emphasis point for Katie Novak-Lenoir’s squad. UMHB has won the rebounding battle in 13 of its 21 games this season, posting a 6.5 rebounding margin and averaging 44.0 boards per game. The Crusaders haven’t lost the battle on the boards since a 70-50 loss at UT-Dallas on Jan. 16—six games ago.
Last Time They Met
- UMHB opened conference play against ETBU on Jan. 23, building a 19-13 lead through the opening quarter before the Tigers erased the six-point deficit with a 22-14 second quarter run. ETBU outscored UMHB in each of the final three quarters, winning, 78-68, in Belton, led by 21 points from former Crusader Payton Hicks.
- The Cru picked up a win over LeTourneau in the first meeting with the Yellowjackets two days after the ETBU loss, fighting back from an early deficit. LETU jumped out to a 17-8 lead, but a 24-7 run in the third quarter put UMHB in control, as The Cru earned a 60-47 win.
- In their last 10 matchups against both opponents, The Cru is 4-6 against ETBU and 10-0 against LETU.
Scouting the Yellowjackets
- Mariana Espinosa comes in as LETU’s leading scorer, averaging 13.5 PPG. The sophomore from Brownsville, Texas put up 22 points at Hardin-Simmons last Thursday and has tallied four 20-point performances this season.
- Kylie Weeks is another key piece of the Yellowjacket backcourt, especially after she scored 20 in LETU’s loss at UMHB in late January. Weeks is also one of three LETU players with 36 steals this season.
- LETU head coach Scot MacAllister has primarily used the same starting lineup in all 22 games this season, though forward LaTerra Satcher missed the last two games after starting 20 straight. In her place, Makenzie Covey stepped up, scoring 10 points in 26 minutes in a win over Howard Payne last Saturday.
Scouting the Tigers
- ETBU is undefeated at home this season, with a perfect 8-0 record inside Ornelas Gym. At 19-4, the Tigers are one win away from reaching the 20-win mark in 7 of the last 8 seasons.
- Payton Hicks, in her sixth season at the college level, leads ETBU with 13.0 PPG and 3.7 assists/game, the latter stat ranking No. 1 in the ASC. Hicks played at UMHB during the 2022-23 season, averaging 18.8 minutes/game with 13 starts.
- Madison Hurta has emerged as one of the ASC’s top freshman shooters, as the New Braunfels native is 49-of-137 from 3-point range this season (2.1 made 3s per game). Hurta averages 12.0 PPG.
- Tiffany Bickford is the third “name to know” on ETBU’s roster, as the reigning ASC Player of the Week put up back-to-back 16-point performances in the Tigers’ trip out west against Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons. Bickford had a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double in ETBU’s pivotal 82-79 win at HSU on Saturday.
Follow the Action
- Thursday’s game in Longview will be broadcasted live at 5:30 p.m. on letuathletics.com.
- Saturday’s 1 p.m. duel from Marshall can be seen on goetbutigers.com.
- Check back on TrueToTheCru.com for postgame stories after both contests, including postgame thoughts from head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir.
