Women's Basketball | 2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM
Box Score Sterling, Kan – McPherson scored five straight points in less than a minute to cut the Lady Warrior lead to one, 52-51 with two minutes left, but Sterling was too good down the stretch from the free throw line as the No. 15 Lady Warriors held on for a 58-51 victory at the Gleason Center on Thursday.
McPherson, which hit 35.5 percent from the field, including six three pointers, held close the entire 40 minutes of the game. MC frustrated the Warriors into just 34.5 percent shooting, nearly 10 percent lower than their season average. However, SC converted on 13-of-17 free throw attempts, while forcing McPherson into 21 turnovers to take control of the game.
After the first 20 minutes, McPherson found themselves down just four, 27-24. The Lady Warriors were obviously frustrated with the physical defense of the Bulldogs, which held Sterling to a dismal 30.3 percent shooting in the first half.
The Bulldogs took the lead early in the second half after Carley Sharp put back a Brooke Weisenburger failed layup attempt followed by a Kristen Ozbun three-pointer from the wing. However, Sterling answered with a 9-2 run, giving the Lady Warriors a 42-35 advantage with 11:28 left.
McPherson answered the run with five of their own, before another run by Sterling pushed the lead back to eight, 52-44.
McPherson refused to layover, scoring seven straight highlighted by a Weisenburger three-pointer with just second left on the shot clock. Despite the valiant effort from McPherson, Sterling proved to be too much down the stretch as SC held the Bulldogs scoreless for the remaining two minutes.
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 3-14 in league play and 6-19 overall, while the Lady Warriors locked up their four consecutive KCAC regular season championship with a 16-1 KCAC record, 22-4 overall.
Cathryn Wiebe paced the Sterling offense with 20 points, while Britany Gasper added 13.
Sophomore guard Brooke Weisenburger led MC with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point line. The only other Bulldog in double figures was junior Kristen Ozbun. Ozbun added 12 points and five rebounds in the effort. Senior forward Stephanie Poland led MC with a season-high 13 rebounds.
McPherson hits to road for game two of this road trip Saturday, Feb. 20, as they face Bethel College. This contest marks the final regular season contest for the Bulldogs. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. inside Thresher Gymnasium.
