Photo: Amillion Fowler drives past a Schreiner defender on her way to the basket, as she did multiple times Wednesday night (Photo by Luke Zayas)
BELTON — Amillion Fowler went scoreless through the first quarter on Wednesday night against Schreiner. But over the next 10 minutes leading into halftime, the senior guard became near-unstoppable, repeatedly driving downhill thanks to a quick first step.
Fowler scored 13 of UMHB’s 18 points in the second quarter, almost single-handedly giving The Cru a 34-28 lead as her aggressiveness on the offensive end paid off. It proved key for Katie Novak-Lenoir’s squad, who widened that advantage to as many as 16 points in the second half and held on for a 63-53 win over the Mountaineers.
“I feel like I have a quick first step, so if there’s anybody in front of me, I know I can beat them off one or two dribbles when I’m focused and in that mindset,” Fowler said, following her first 20-point performance as a Crusader.
The Richmond, Texas native was certainly in the right mindset in the second quarter. UMHB carried a narrow 16-15 lead through the opening period, a stretch that saw The Cru open on a 6-0 run, only to cool off while Schreiner kept it tight with a trio of 3s and briefly took a one-point lead. Needing a spark on offense after coming up scoreless on five straight possessions, Fowler drove to the lane and got a layup to fall with 6:11 left until halftime.
Less than a minute later, she did the same thing again, this time scoring through contact while drawing a foul. She completed the three-point play at the free throw line, and scored again on a jumper on UMHB’s next trip down the floor, marking three straight successful possessions with Fowler spearheading the charge.
The senior finished with career-highs in both points (22) and rebounds (11), notching her first double-double. She was also perfect at the free throw line for the second time this season, going 5-for-5. It was the sort of performance The Cru needed on a night in which Schreiner never went away and gave up very few easy scores.
“The rebounds were a big help for sure,” Novak-Lenoir said postgame of Fowler’s performance. “We see her do it in practice all the time. I’m actually surprised that’s her high score, because I know she has the propensity to do it every day.
“Honestly, at times, I felt like she was the only one being aggressive.”
For as well as Fowler played, that was precisely the challenge UMHB faced on Wednesday night. The Cru has battled inconsistent stretches since the beginning of this season, and that dynamic showed up again just four days after securing their best win of the season to this point over SCAC preseason favorite Texas Lutheran. Despite opening three of the game’s four quarters on runs of 4-0 or better, UMHB never gained the separation to entirely put the game away.
That proved most visible in the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter after going up 57-41. While Schreiner closed by making just one of its final 16 shots, The Cru failed to capitalize, and instead turned it over nine times—roughly half of their game total of 19—while not scoring again on a non-free throw until 39 seconds remained, at which point Fowler displayed her tenacity once again, twice grabbing an offensive rebound before putting it back up and widening UMHB’s lead back to 10.
The result will go down as a win—UMHB’s fourth in its last five games—but Novak-Lenoir made it clear postgame that she expects more from her team in the effort and energy category moving forwards. Schreiner, coached by UMHB alum Kendra Foreman, played with intensity and grit, eventually cutting the deficit back to single-digits with 1:04 to play. While The Cru matched it at times, it didn’t come consistently enough.
“We have to show up every game,” Novak-Lenoir said afterwards. “I know we got the win on paper, but I was not pleased with the effort or the energy.
“I don’t know if it’s different lineups, or if we need to try some different things on defense. I don’t know if it’s me changing up with the way we structure practices. But I’m well aware that it’s very up and down. We’re trying to fix it.”
The fourth-quarter struggles followed a third quarter that went down as UMHB’s best stretch of the contest, shooting 8-of-16 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, the first of which came from Fowler less than two minutes into the second half.
In that 10-minute period coming out of the break, The Cru outscored Schreiner, 19-13, producing quality possessions and scoring at the rim. Freshman Natalia Galvan, in her third collegiate start, had four of The Cru’s first seven points as UMHB turned it over just once in the opening five minutes.
They widened their advantage to 13 on Galvan’s jumper with 7:33 in the quarter, and refused to let Schreiner pull within single-digits, even as the Mountaineers twice cut the lead to 10 down the stretch. Amari Welch and Rachel Okoye scored on consecutive possessions to end the third, giving The Cru a 12-point lead.
Okoye joined Fowler in double figures, having been the key catalyst early on with six of UMHB’s first eight points in the game. The senior guard had 12 in her fourth-straight performance of 10-plus points. For Schreiner, Brie Sosa led the scoring effort with 15 points, shooting 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.
The Cru now resets and readies itself for one of the season’s most crucial stretches. Between Dec. 10 and Dec. 18, UMHB will play a rematch at Texas Lutheran before hosting George Fox, No. 12 UW-Whitewater, and Trinity (TX). Three of those four are currently in Massey Ratings’ Top 100, while Trinity is coming off a 111-57 win over Concordia (TX).
