BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team had to wait a little longer than expected for its 2020-21 season opener, but the Cru will get the season started Tuesday night. The UMHB women will take on UNT-Dallas Tuesday night at 6:30 in Dallas before returning home to host Arlington Baptist on Friday in the first game action of the year.
The Cru was originally scheduled to open the campaign on November 17
th, but that game was canceled, forcing the delayed start. The UMHB women will be taking the floor against an opponent for the first time since earning a spot in the Sectional Round of the NCAA Division III National Championships back in March before the rest of the tournament was canceled. UMHB lost three major building blocks from that team in
Alicia Blackwell,
Hannah Holt and
Kendall Rollins. The trio combined to win three West Division Player of the Year honors and 12 All-Conference selections in addition to earning All-America and All-Region honors. But the Cru is not focusing on what the program lost, but on the wealth of talent returning as the program looks to continue building on a series of program firsts.
The UMHB women earned their first NCAA Division III National Championships bid in 2018-19 and followed up by winning the program's first ASC title last season. The Cru returns 12 letter winners from a team that made its second straight appearance in round of 16 in the postseason last year. Point guard
Madison McCoy (Sr., Highlands Ranch, Co.) and post
Allaira Jones (Jr., Gatesville) are the two returning starters, although McCoy may miss some time early in the season. Jones is the leading returning scorer at 11.0 points per game and she also grabbed a team-best 7.5 rebounds per contest. McCoy had a team-high 114 assists and averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 boards per game.
Guards
Bethany McLeod (Jr., Liberty Hill) and
A'Lexiss Benton (Jr., Lantana) also started games in the back court last season and
Brooke Elliott (Sr., Georgetown) and
Alexia Martin (Jr., Lancaster) are also seasoned veterans at guard.
Carrington Jones (So., San Antonio) and
Olivia Champion (So., Costa Rica) earned valuable experience as freshmen last season and newcomers
Laila Hampton (So., Baton Rogue, La.),
Cheyanne Bonilla (Fr., Horizon City),
Riley Sale (Fr., Aledo),
Makenna Long (Fr., Little Elm) and
Jacqueline Cilliers (Fr., Austin) will also have a chance to contribute in the back court rotation.
Jones will be joined up front by experienced players in
Kasey Jo Hinton (Jr., College Station),
Trinity Paeu (So., New Zealand),
Hannah Eggleston (So., Magnolia) and
Madison Briscoe (So., Aledo). All four of those players contributed key minutes for last year's team. Newcomers fighting for roles in the Cru's front court include:
Taylor Kollmorgen (Gr., Houston),
Kaitlyn Kollmorgen (Fr., Houston),
Ashley Faux (Fr. Frisco),
Madelynn Whitehurst (Fr., Winnsboro) and
Meagan Johnson (Fr., Nacogdoches).
The Cru finished 26-4 last season and was ranked ninth and tenth in the country in the two major Top 25 Polls at the end of the season.
Mark Morefield is 109-33 in five seasons as the UMHB head coach and has guided the program to a 4-1 record in the NCAA Tournament in that time. The Cru women were picked to win the ASC West Division once again in the league's Preseason Coaches and Media Poll and will open conference play at UT Dallas on January 7
th.
