The Lady Crusaders got back in action this past weekend after a long Thanksgiving break. The women traveled to Elizabeth City, NC to take on USCAA opponent Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
The women hadn’t played since the 19th of November when they had defeated Central Penn at home. With the gym closed for Christmas formal the team was limited in practice time which unfortunately showed the first 4 minutes of the game as MACU raced out to an early 16-4 lead. With what has been displayed the last few games the women clawed back into the game. The Mustangs of MACU scored 24 points in the first quarter which was fueled by tremendous outside shooting.
However the Lady Crusaders would step up the defensive pressure and hold their opponents to only 28 points for the next 3 quarters. The game featured different styles as MACU attempted 26 3 pointers while Christendom focused most of their attention at interior scoring and getting to the free throw line. By halftime the Lady Crusaders had cut the MACU lead to just 7 led by a strong first half from Gemma McMahon and Bryn Burgess.
The 3rd quarter saw the Crusaders continue the come-back with defensive stop after defensive stop the game got closer. After a made 3 pointer by Bryn Burgess followed by a driving layup from Liz Ford the Crusaders only trailed by 2 as the end of the 3rd quarter came to a close. The 4th quarter was more of the same as the Lady Crusaders continued to hold MACU on the offensive end but unfortunately couldn’t overtake them with the lead. With just over 3 minutes and Christendom down 2, the Lady Crusaders got two crucial stops on defensive but missed game tying shots. Down the stretch Kamiah Gilbert knocked down free throws and Christendom’s rally fell short as MACU won 53-45.
Kamiah Gilbert led all scorers with 25 points. The Lady Crusaders were led by Gemma, Liz and Bryn who all finished with double-doubles. Gemma finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Liz finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds and Bryn had 16 points and a game high 19 rebounds.
“The women fought really hard today. It was just a tough task to come back after a slow start to the game. MACU hit some big shots especially in the first quarter. Overall we continue to improve and playing in a close game like this will definitely help us as we move forward in the season and especially next semester” noted Coach Vander Woude after the game. The women are back in action Wednesday for their last game of the semester against USCAA opponent Penn State Mont Alto. Game time is 5pm at Crusader gymnasium.