“I think to get 22 turnovers playing solid half court defense says, ‘Okay, it’s not only the press. “We’ve talked about the turnovers before, and I thought, ‘Okay, we’re pressing more, so we’re getting those turnovers,’” Morefield added. In total, the Banana Slugs turned the ball over 22 times, uncharacteristic for a team that entered averaging 16.9 per game. But still, UMHB led by the end of the 10-minute period, 34-28, a credit to the defense, which forced the majority of UCSC’s 11 first-half turnovers. The Crusaders shot 66.7 percent from the field, and UCSC was an even 50 percent. The scoring increased dramatically in the second quarter, with UCSC even taking a three-point advantage by the 7:31 mark.

“The cutting action didn’t bother us,” Morefield said, noting that UCSC tried to get the ball to the basket through passes from the perimeter to a “cutter” sprinting towards the paint. UMHB took a 12-11 lead after the first quarter. Layups were hard to come by in the early goings though UCSC finished with 22 points in the paint, the Banana Slugs did not get but four shots from short-range in the game’s opening quarter, none of which fell through the net.

But UMHB was prepared for the disciplined, and in Morefield’s words, “unpredictable” offensive attack of the visitors from the West Coast. In fact, the Banana Slugs converted on 40 percent of their shots over the first 12 contests of the year. UCSC entered the game averaging 67.1 points per game, having assembled a 10-2 record behind consistent shooting. The defensive effort was critical in UMHB’s victory We knew this was going to be a quality game, and hopefully we can build on this as we go into conference.” “They’re a good team, and honestly, last year, they would’ve been in the top three in the regional rankings if it wasn’t for some of the things Covid did to their schedule. “This was a really good game,” Morefield added. That is, both UMHB and UCSC are likely to be included in the Region X regional rankings, which will be released within the next four weeks, and when it comes to NCAA Tournament time, wins over other regionally-ranked opponents serve as one of the biggest criteria elements. But the main value in the contest was its probability to be a regionally-ranked result. The Banana Slugs entered the matchup ranked No. But now it’s about what we do from here on out.” I think it would’ve been a different outcome. “I’d like to have Trinity and Puget Sound back based on the way we’re playing right now. “This is a marathon and not a sprint,” UMHB head coach Mark Morefield said. After taking down Piedmont 80-45 on Thursday, they began the new year with another victory, this one larger in magnitude, against a Top 25 opponent in UC Santa Cruz, 60-49. So the Crusaders have done the only thing they can do: look forwards. BELTON- The UMHB women’s basketball team wishes it could take back the losses to Trinity and Puget Sound, which came days before Christmas.īut that’s not an option.

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