Women’s basketball goes 9-3 over winter break, leading SCAC

Junior forward Murphy Burns leaps over her defender for a layup in last week's victory against Southwestern. Photo by Aidan Kirksey. — Junior forward Murphy Burns leaps over her defender for a layup in last week’s victory against Southwestern. Photo by Aidan Kirksey.

The women’s basketball team dominated over break, remaining undefeated in conference play and earning the No. 1 seed in the SCAC.

“Over break we really grew as a team, accepting the responsibility to truly be a great team,” said junior forward Libby Kruse. “We are taking pride in restoring integrity back into the program and break really helped us see truly how talented we are when we play and work together and really play for each other instead of just with each other.”

Trinity lost their first game of the break 114-109 in overtime to the University of La Verne. Junior guard Murphy Burns led with 31 points, while senior guard Anne Waidelich had 18 points, and junior forward Libby Kruse had 12 rebounds.

The Tigers next defeated the University of Redlands 77-66, led by Burns with 22 points, sophomore guard Hannah Coley with 17 points and first-year forward Anecia Richardson with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Trinity wrapped up their California road-trip with a 73-68 loss at Chapman University. Burns led the Tigers with 24 points, while Richardson recorded 10 points.

The Tigers came back in full force after Christmas, defeating Hardin-Simmons University 69-61 at home. Although tied at 47 in the second half, Trinity went on a 12-2 run to secure the win.

“Our offensive execution went very well in the games,” Richardson said. “We have a good outside and inside game with our guards being great shooters and our posts having great inside moves.”

The next night, however, Trinity lost 64-52 to Carthage College. Kruse led with nine rebounds, while Burns collected 23 points.

The women finished off 2012 with a 72-48 win over Texas Lutheran University. Richardson had 14 points, Burns had 19 points, and Kruse recorded nine rebounds. For her performance, Burns was named the SCAC Player of the Week.

The team continued their streak with a 65-59 win over the University of Dallas, led by Waidelich with 14 points and Burns with 12 points.

“The girls are doing a wonderful job,” said head coach Cameron Hill. “Everything that we’ve tried to implement as a new staff they’ve committed to and have done a great job of executing.”

Two days later, Trinity beat Colorado College 72-52. Both Burns and Coley scored in the double figures, collecting 25 points and 13 points, respectively. Kruse had 11 rebounds. For the second consecutive week, Burns was named the SCAC Player of the Week.

Trinity hit the road a few days later, opening with a 76-57 win over Austin College. Richardson dominated with 18 points, while Coley had 16 points, and Burns had 17 points. Kruse contributed with 11 rebounds.

Trinity beat Centenary College the next night 87-81, led by Kruse who collected 17 rebounds. High scorers for the Tigers were Waidelich with 22 points, Burns with 16, and Richardson with 13.

On Jan. 12, the Tigers secured a 71-66 victory over recently ranked in the top 25 in the nation, the University of Texas-Dallas. Burns finished with 20 points, Richardson had 17 points, and Kruse had 10 points.

“They decided together that they weren’t going to lose that game and they proved to themselves truly what they were capable of this season,” Hill said.

Trinity extended their winning streak to seven games on Saturday night, defeating Southwestern University 86-74. Richardson led with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Kruse had 21 points and Burns had 18 points.

The Tigers will be on the road this weekend, facing the University of Dallas on Friday and Colorado College on Saturday.

“The motivation is to protect what we’ve built together,” Hill said. “Anybody that will beat us is going to have to earn it.”