Photo by Luke Zayas/Backwards Hat Media
MARSHALL, Texas — Challenged by ETBU’s 2-3 zone defense on the same afternoon they surrendered 12 3-pointers, UMHB women’s basketball struggled out of the gate in its ASC opener and never gained the momentum back on Saturday inside Ornelas Gym.
It produced a 76-43 ETBU win, as the Tigers got off to conference play on the right foot behind a game-opening 18-6 run and a 20-9 spurt in the third quarter. ETBU (15-4, 1-0 ASC) had four scorers in double figures, led by 15 points from Anna Beamsderfer off the bench.
The result in East Texas snapped UMHB’s two-game win streak, built by wins over Coast Guard and St. Joseph (CT) in Connecticut earlier in the week. The Cru (6-14, 0-1 ASC) head back to Belton with six days to turn the page for its conference home opener against Hardin-Simmons on Jan. 24.
“Disappointed in our effort and execution today,” UMHB head coach Katie Novak-Lenoir said. “ETBU out-hustled us from the start. We had moments of good effort, but we dug ourselves in a deep hole with lazy turnovers and let the momentum shift and stay. We have another week to figure it out and prepare for HSU.”
UMHB turned it over 25 times in the contest, a number of which were live ball turnovers that gave way to ETBU’s 27 points off turnovers. It marked the third-most turnovers in a game by The Cru this season, and they came early, fueling the Tigers’ strong start.
In fact, the Crusaders made three trips down the floor before they even put up their first shot, turning it over twice in the opening two minutes. ETBU scored off both takeaways, building a 4-0 lead on a pair of short-range scores from forward Hannah Ayala. The Cru went on to turn it over five more times in the first quarter, as the hosts went up 12-2 on a layup from Beamsderfer with 4:16 in the period, and led 18-6 through the first 10 minutes. UMHB shot just 1-of-8 in that stretch, its lone non-free throw scoring play coming with 7:11 when Karlee Cronk connected on a jumper.
But for as difficult as the first quarter was for UMHB, The Cru flipped it in the second, stepping against ETBU’s building momentum. Kayla Johns-McGarity, in her third game in a UMHB uniform, hit a free throw on the Crusaders’ first possession and added back-to-back scores in the paint, cutting the deficit to 10 by the 8:15 mark. Three minutes later, after ETBU pulled in front by 17, Josie Bruder connected on a 3 and Cronk scored on the very next possession, bringing the hosts’ lead back to 12. Katelen Brooks, who finished as UMHB’s leading scorer with 11 points, capped the back-and-forth quarter for The Cru with the first of her three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in the final 1:10.
Trailing 36-22 at the half, the third quarter was set up to be the deciding point, as UMHB looked to carry over its second-quarter offensive success while ETBU aimed to put the game away. As it turned out, the latter occurred, with the Tigers outscoring UMHB, 20-9, in the 10 minutes coming out of halftime. Marley Keith and Tiffany Bickford each hit 3s against The Cru defense in the first 3:05 of the third, contributing to a 10-0 run that opened the second half.
Madyson Solis briefly countered for UMHB as The Cru pushed the ball upcourt in transition, but Beamsderfer answered on the other end for ETBU, keeping the Tigers’ lead at 24. ETBU widened the margin to 28 by the end of the quarter, even after Brooks connected on a 3 and Johns-McGarity went 2-for-2 on a trip to the free throw line. The Tigers were 4-of-9 from beyond the arc in the third.
ETBU’s largest lead came with 5:40 to go, when Beamsderfer followed up a Bickford 3 by scoring in the paint. Brooks and Cronk each converted on 3s late in the contest, but it did little to suppress ETBU’s sizable lead. The Tigers outscored UMHB, 17-12, in the fourth.
Along with Brooks’ 11 points, Johns-McGarity had 10 points and seven rebounds, another solid performance for the midseason transfer from Angelina College. Cronk added eight points, six rebounds, six steals, and a team-high three assists. The steals marked a new career-high for Cronk, who accounted for 60% of UMHB’s steals, surpassing her previous collegiate best of four, set against Whitworth last season.
UMHB gets set for Game No. 2 of its six-game ASC slate next Saturday, welcoming Hardin-Simmons (13-3, 0-0 ASC) to the Mayborn Campus Center. The Cowgirls are currently on a California trip that saw them defeat SCIAC leader Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday. Next Saturday’s ASC home opener tips off at 1 p.m. CT.
