Photo by David Morris
BELTON — Sunday was a test of UMHB’s resilience. And The Cru rose to the occasion with flying colors.
Just 24 hours after being disappointed in a 58-56 loss to Concordia—a defeat that dropped The Cru to 2-5 on the season—Katie Novak-Lenoir’s squad made the most of its second opportunity of the weekend, embracing the short turnaround with a renewed fire against a veteran-led, hard-nosed Texas Lutheran team riding a four-game win streak.
Not only did the Crusaders get the bounce-back win they were looking for, but they did so with an edge, leading for 37 of the game’s 40 minutes en route to a much-needed—and well-earned—76-65 victory over the SCAC’s preseason favorite.
“We played with a lot more confidence,” Novak-Lenoir said postgame. “I thought we were really balanced. We took smarter shots, and we made better passes.”
Keyed by major contributions from Josie Bruder and Amari Welch, The Cru shot 12-of-23 from 3-point range; the program’s best performance from beyond the arc with more than 10 attempts in a game since Nov. 26, 2019. They were a blistering 49.1% from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line, the latter marking the first time since Feb. 24, 2018 that the Crusaders made every free throw they attempted. They also won the rebounding battle by 11, 41-30, against a team that came into the day having out-rebounded its first five opponents by a margin of 8.5 per game.
“To out-rebound such a good rebounding team was big for us,” Novak-Lenoir noted afterwards. “We played like a better team today. We were a little bit more in the flow.”
It was a team effort in perhaps The Cru’s most complete offensive performance of the season to this point, especially when the quality of opponent is considered. UMHB’s 76 points are the most surrendered in a game by TLU this season, a noteworthy footnote considering the Bulldogs had already battled Hardin-Simmons and Cal Lutheran, both of whom are ranked in the Top 50 nationally in offensive efficiency. The last time a TLU opponent shot as well as UMHB did on Sunday, at above 49%, was Dec. 15, 2023—two seasons ago.
The Crusaders, who split a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs last season, were well aware of the type of opponent they were matched up against, and it made Sunday’s win that much more impactful.
“We’ve had such an up and down identity,” Novak-Lenoir said. “We’re just trying to stay more consistent in what we know how to do. As a coaching staff, we know how great the [TLU] program is. Troy [Patterson] does a great job. His teams play hard. They played end line to end line and horn to horn. They’re always a tough team. We just focused a little more on being accountable for doing our job better today.”
The Cru wasted no time settling in. Unlike Saturday’s duel with Concordia, in which UMHB went nearly 3 1/2 minutes and took six shots before finding the game’s first score, the hosts established an offensive rhythm from the jump. After TLU opened with an Angelina Sotelo 3-pointer, UMHB answered in a 7-0 run. Bruder knotted the score with her first of four 3s on the day, and one possession later, Natalia Galvan found Karlee Cronk with a perfect bounce pass in the paint, splitting a pair of defenders as Cronk gave The Cru its first lead.
The sort of balance and effective passing seen on that connection between Galvan and Cronk proved key all afternoon, as the Crusaders dished out a season-best 19 assists. It kept TLU’s defense on its toes and spread the scoring around, with seven players tallying six points or more, and three—Bruder, Welch, and Rachel Okoye—leading the way in double figures.
“I think it’s still almost a new thing [with using our balance offensively], and it shouldn’t be as new as it is,” said Novak-Lenoir when asked about utilizing the depth and versatility in the rotation. “We have to use each other for our strengths a little bit better. And we did today.”
UMHB opened each of the first two quarters by making at least four of its first seven shots, avoiding lengthy scoring droughts as the lead widened in The Cru’s favor. The hosts led 15-13 through the opening 10 minutes, but took charge in a 13-4 run early in the second quarter. Rachel Okoye, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, had seven of those 13, sparking the run with a stellar two-minute stretch.
On UMHB’s first possession, the senior leapt up and grabbed an offensive rebound, putting it back off the glass for a four-point lead. The next trip down the floor came when Okoye chased down TLU’s bad pass into the backcourt, coming up with the steal and going right to the rim, where she scored through contact, drawing a foul. Her three-point play made it 20-13, and one possession later, the Houston native stood at the free throw line again, this time making two shots from the charity stripe.
24 seconds later, Okoye showed up again for The Cru, tracking down an offensive rebound before finding a wide-open Bruder near the top of the 3-point arc. Bruder buried the long-range shot, extending the lead to 25-17.
That all happened before the 8:19 mark, and UMHB steadily distanced itself from the Bulldogs as the quarter progressed. The Crusaders outscored TLU, 27-13, in the 10 minutes leading into halftime, in large part thanks to converting on six of their eight 3-point attempts in the quarter. The 42-26 halftime lead provided no shortage of momentum heading into the second half.
But much like the game itself providing an opportunity for The Cru to display its resilience coming off Saturday’s narrow loss, the third quarter offered up a similar piece of adversity to deal with. UMHB turned the ball over a total of nine times between the first two quarters, but ill-timed passes and TLU’s defensive aggression forced The Cru into 11 in the third quarter alone.
The Bulldogs, who had just two points off turnovers at the half, put up 12 off their takeaways in the third, fighting back into contention after a three-minute scoring drought. Between the 5:42 and 2:14 marks, TLU worked its way back from a 21-point deficit, scoring 14 of the next 16 points as Davi’Yanna Jones’ layup cut the UMHB lead back to single digits. In that span of 3:45, The Cru took just two shots, turning it over seven times as the momentum shifted in TLU’s favor.
But in the theme of the day, the Crusaders responded. Coming out of a timeout, the defense improved, and the ill-timed passes that created unforced turnovers subsided. Bruder and Marissa Hernandez scored on back-to-back possessions with a minute left, pushing the advantage to 12 entering the fourth. Crisis averted.
Then came another surge from the Bulldogs. With TLU trailing by 12 near the five-minute mark, Lauren Sansano was fouled from behind on a fast-break. Following a lengthy review, officials determined the foul rose to “Flagrant 1” status, giving Sansano two free throws with TLU to take possession in its own frontcourt immediately afterwards. Not only did the senior guard go 2-for-2 at the line, but she capitalized on the offensive possession that followed, hitting a 3 to bring her team within seven, 61-54.
But true to form, UMHB answered, as Allie Uzzell connected on a baseline jumper 14 seconds later. With 4:20 left, TLU crept closer, pulling within six on a pair of Zaria Solis free throws. Once again, The Cru responded with a field goal of its own on the ensuing possession, as Karlee Cronk connected on a jumper with the clock just below four minutes.
The Crusaders weren’t about to let another game slip away. Galvan came through with a three-point play, extending the lead back to double-digits. Then Cronk tracked down offensive rebounds on back-to-back possessions, each one leading to a right wing 3 from Bruder, who finished with a team-high 16 points. The Cru had five offensive rebounds in the final 3:03, with nine of their final 11 points coming on second-chance opportunities.
“It didn’t show a lot in the stats, but Karlee was everywhere and getting her hands on everything,” Novak-Lenoir said, when asked about Cronk’s two offensive rebounds leading to Bruder’s game-sealing 3s. “I thought her energy was huge for us. She’s several inches shorter than everybody she was guarding today and she played tough. We needed that.”
That toughness across the board carried UMHB to a win, despite TLU challenging the lead multiple times down the stretch of the second half. Sunday was a confidence-builder, not only with Saturday’s loss, but also because they regained, then maintained, their composure at multiple points when the Bulldogs seemed to be hitting their stride. The effort paid off, and timely shot-making came through when the Crusaders needed it most.
They look to continue that positive momentum in three days, hosting future ASC foe Schreiner in a fourth-straight home game on Wednesday night.
“It should be a confidence-builder,” Novak-Lenoir said. “We have to get consistent with it now. We have to put it back together Wednesday when we play, and keep building from there.”
