Lady Crusaders get Win over MacMurray on Thursday
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's basketball team (3-4) outscored MacMurray College (0-8) by nine in the second half to erase a one-point halftime deficit and prevailed on Thursday evening. The final result was 68-60 as the Lady Crusaders matched a season-high on the scoreboard and finished the homestand 3-1.
Down 33-32 at intermission, Dallas would outscore the Highlanders 16-9 in the third quarter to spin the momentum. With the team's battling back and forth and UD leading slightly at portions during the fourth, it was a season-best nine made trifectas that would help keep the Navy and White in front.
Sophomore Helen Onyenso (Oak Park, Ill.) had game-changing steal with 54 seconds in regulation to give the Lady Crusaders a chance to push the advantage to six. Junior Seana Stoia (Tulsa, Okla.) would sink both free throws, as Dallas connected on the final six attempts to build on a 62-60 edge in the final minute and a half. Overall, the Lady Crusaders were 81 percent (17-of-21) from the charity stripe.
MacMurray jumped out to a 9-2 run out of the first tip through the first three minutes of the game. The home team would answer to make things within four but trailed 18-14 after the first quarter. In the second frame, UD would outscore the opponents by three, and utilized two treys by juniors Sammi Tso (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Caitlyn Worry (Lumberton, Texas) to nip things at one point. Classmate Holly Tonry (Seattle, Wash.) would connect downtown to tie the contest 31-all. The defending conference player-of-the-week hit on two free throws prior to score five in a row on that run.
Out of the break, the team's leading scorer for the night, junior Lindsey Gendron (Houston, Texas) made one of her three treys to lift Dallas in front for good 35-33. The Lady Crusaders would keep MacMurray off the scoreboard for nearly five and a half minutes in the quarter. During this time, UD engineered a 12-0 run in the stanza and a 13-0 span going back to the end of the second quarter. Stoia connected on back-to-back field goals to push the Lady Crusaders' edge to double digits for the first time on the evening (46-35) and then on the next possession to reflect their largest lead by 13 points.
The Highlanders did not disappear and would swing the momentum back on a 7-0 outburst in the final two minutes of the frame. This included a last second trifecta by Kayla Horlacher to cut things 48-42. Horlacher would sink another jumper from downtown after layup by Ashley Huels to close the margin to a single point. Dallas remained composed and caught fire from long range as four of the five second half three-pointers were hit in a row during the fourth. Contributing to these key shots were: Gendron, Tonry, and Worry with the final two in a row. Worry added a layup for eight-straight points, her total for a team-high that quarter.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- A season most five Lady Crusaders eclipsed double figures in scoring led by Gendron with 15 points for a season-high. Tonry followed with 13, Stoia added 12, and Tso and Worry completed the group with 11 apiece.
- Stoia was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and Tonry contributed 5-of-6 as the duo combined for 13 of UD's successful 17 hits. Onyenso would garner a career-high 16 rebounds, with nine coming off the offensive glass. Her total marked an individual UD best dating back to December 20, 2013, versus Oglethorpe University by Christy Allen with 17. Tso added eight boards and dished out six assists – tying a season-best. Worry led the bench with 11 points and was four-of-five from the field and 100 percent behind the three-point arc (3-of-3).
- Dallas shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the floor and won the rebounding battle 39-37. Also would force one extra turnover (15-14), and scored 20 points off the miscues.
- MacMurray shot 39.4 percent (26-of-66) and 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point land. They only got to the free throw line five times and hit on three attempts as UD was whistled for 10 fouls. The Highlanders dished out 17 assists compared to the home team's 12, and outscored them 32-18 in the post.
- Brianna Markusic paced the visitors with a game-high 20 points. In the first half, the lone player in double-digits for MacMurray had boasted 14 and was shooting 7-of-12 from the floor. Paige Zertuche dished six assists.
UP NEXT
Dallas will be off a week and travel to Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (OK) on Dec. 30 for a 2 p.m. tip-off.