Lady Crusaders Turn the Tables on Mustangs

This past Saturday the Lady Crusaders played their best game of the season in a 63-38 rout of USCAA opponent Mid-Atlantic Christian University.  The women's team was coming off a close loss to NCAA Division III Trinity University last Monday when they took the court on Saturday.  The Lady Crusaders had lost to the Mustangs of MACU back in the fall semester after a close game.  The only thing that was similar this time were the two teams! The outcome couldn't have been more different.

From the very start of the game the Lady Crusaders took control would never look back.  Continuing to play better with each game the women of Christendom claimed 15-7 lead after the first quarter.  The 2nd quarter decided the game as the stifling defense of the Lady Crusaders held the Mustangs to only 5 points.  With tremendous team defense the Christendom team harassed the Mustangs with what looked like an unbreakable wall.

On the offensive end the Lady Crusaders played some of the best team basketball in recent memory, showcased by unselfish passing that led to layup after layup.  When the women weren't shooting layups Junior Elizabeth Ford was knocking down 3 pointers as she caught fire in the first half and connected on 2 back-to-back 3's.  With a 21 point lead to start the 2nd half the Lady Crusaders continued to hold serve.

The Mustangs made a push in the 3rd quarter and early into the 4th quarter, cutting the lead to 17 before the Lady Crusaders clamped down and stepped up.  Bryn Burgess and Gemma McMahon repeatedly broke the Mustangs pressure only to find open layups for themselves or their teammates.  The story throughout most of the game was the defensive effort by the Lady Crusaders which completely dominated for 40 minutes, holding the Mustangs to just 20% field goal percentage and outrebounded them 56-37.

Liz Ford and Bryn Burgess led all scorers with 23 points each while Liz added 12 rebounds. Gemma McMahon filled up the stat-sheet as well, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking 4 shots.

"This was a tremendous team win. It was a fun game to be a part of. I am so proud of way everyone has come together and really put the needs of the team first, and this showed today. Our team defense and passing was tremendous and was the reason for the win. Anytime you lose to a team previously and come back and utterly dominate them like we did today is a credit to the hard work of the women on the team" noted Coach Vander Woude.

The women are off until Saturday, when they host USCAA opponent Johnson and Wales University from Charlotte, NC.