Coming back home to the McDermott Center seemed to be exactly what the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals needed after a month on the road, facing off against Newman University in a Heartland Conference women's basketball game on Saturday.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 45-13 lead at halftime and never looked back, crushing the Jets, 81-42, to stay undefeated in Heartland Conference play at 3-0 and remain in first place in the conference.
“I think our team is going through some changes right now and I think we're growing,” head coach Angela Lawson said. “I don't think we're anywhere near our potential, mostly because of some early injuries, getting people back and conditioning and things like that.
“I think a big factor today was how we played in the St. Mary's Tournament with our team's mental approach. We took some steps, as a team and a coaching staff, over the past week that have worked on our mental approach to things and about making changes to little things.”
UIW's first half was highlighted by a period just over seven minutes in which Newman University (3-10 overall, 1-2 in conference) went scoreless while Incarnate Word (8-5 overall, 3-0 conference) pushed their lead out to nearly twenty points.
The senior trio of Cinnamon Kava (12 points), Hayley Harvey (11 points) and Nia Torru (10 points) gave UIW three players in the double digits in the opening 20 minutes, while Newman had only one player score in double digits in the entire contest.
Kava ended the contest with a game-high 19 points. Torru finished with 16 points, 7 steals and four rebounds while Harvey ended the game with 15 points.
More important than the one-sided first half was Lawson's ability to use her entire bench for the first time all season, getting several players minutes and experience that they hadn't had a chance to yet this year, be it because of injuries or UIW simply needing its top player on the floor in a close contest.
“I think all those ladies who got in today have earned their playing time,” Lawson said. “Some of them haven't really had the opportunity and I thought it was great. We got everybody in for the first time all year. Some our young ones that haven't been getting many minutes are still growing and learning and adjusting and it's about putting them on the floor with the right people.
“I was really proud with what they contributed today.”
Senior guard Erica Sosa started the game and scored four points and had a steal; post Brittney Bennett scored three points and pulled down five rebounds; Marissa Shinsky had a steal and a rebound; and Amy Wilson scored a bucket off the bench for UIW.
With a solid victory at home, the Cardinals will now get set for another conference matchup at the McDermott Center at 5:30 p.m. against Lincoln University.
