UMHB built a 10-point halftime advantage, then foiled an attempted rally by Ozarks (Ark.) on the way to a 72-59 victory Monday night at Mayborn Campus Center.
The win was the first of the season for the Lady Crusaders (1-3, 1-1 American Southwest Conference), who had seen leads evaporate in each previous contest.
“At halftime we talked about not focusing on trying to keep the lead or playing to just stay in front,” UMHB coach Kim Kirkpatrick-Thornton said. “We wanted to continue doing the things that we were doing well. We wanted to relax and not rush, and I think we did those things.”
After falling behind 11-4 in the first 4 minutes, the Lady Crusaders pulled even at 19-all and took the lead for good with a 14-2 run that was capped by senior point guard Mallory McAdams’ running, 25-foot floater to beat the halftime buzzer.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Ashley Teague helped the Lady Eagles (2-4, 0-2) trim a 10-point deficit to 49-44 midway through the second half before UMHB pulled away again.
McAdams hit her second 3 of the night and sophomore guard Jenny Black had a layup and a 3 to fuel a 14-4 spurt.
“We wanted to come out and finish this one. We kept on them on defense and hit our shots when we had to,” said Black, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds. “It feels good. It was definitely a much-needed win.”
Ozarks got as close as 63-56 on Lacey Phillips’ 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining before a Black bucket and four points from Kellie Thomas put the Eagles away for good.
Thomas scored a game-high 14 points off the bench, and McAdams had 10 and a game-high nine rebounds for the Lady Crusaders, who forced 26 turnovers and held a 38-28 edge on the boards.
Freshman post Sabrina Goddard had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Eagles, who shot 59 percent (10-of-17) from long range but only 30 percent (8-of-27) from inside the arc.
“We didn’t panic tonight,” said Kirkpatrick-Thornton, whose squad will hit the road to face East Texas Baptist on Saturday and won’t play at home again until Jan. 2. “If you keep your composure when things start getting a little rough, it will come back around.”
