Women's Basketball | 1/21/2011 2:11:28 PM
Game 20: McPherson College (4-15, 2-7 KCAC) at No. 7 Kansas Wesleyan Univ. (19-1, 8-1 KCAC)
Saturday, January 22, 2011 | 5:00 p.m. | Mabee Arena | Salina, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
KCAC Game of the Week Broadcast
The Matchup
The McPherson College women’s basketball team wraps up arguably the toughest stretch of its schedule, as the Bulldogs take on their second consecutive ranked opponent in No.7 Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday night in Salina, Kan.
Saturday’s game is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. from Mabee Arena in Salina, Kan. The matchup between the Bulldogs and Coyotes has been selected as the KCAC Game of the Week and a video stream will be available at www.kcacsports.com. A link can also be found at www.macbulldogs.com. There will be no radio broadcast provided by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio due to a programming conflict.
The Bulldogs (4-15, 2-7 KCAC) enter the weekend off a hard-fought, 64-53, loss against No. 15 Sterling College on Wednesday night. McPherson had the game within three points, 54-51, with 2:35 remaining, but connected on just one field goal the rest of the way in the loss. MC shot 31.0 percent (18-of-58) from the field, while the Warriors converted 44.9 percent (22-of-49) attempts. Freshman guard
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 10 points.
Despite the loss, senior guard
Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) made history by putting herself in a tie with April Woody for third on the all-time scoring list. Ozbun’s seven points against the Warriors gives her 1,149 career points.
Kansas Wesleyan (19-1, 8-1 KCAC) has been as good as expected this seasons, as the Coyotes have climbed as high as fifth in the NAIA D-II Coaches’ Top 25 and currently rest at the No. 7 position. KWU’s lone loss of the season came on Jan. 13 against Friends University, 78-75. Since Friends, the Coyotes have knocked off Ottawa University (82-72) and, most recently, Bethel College (76-56).
The Coyotes are led in scoring by sophomore forward Stephanie Frost, who averages 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Frost owns five double doubles on the season, including a 12 points and 10 rebound effort in KWU’s latest win against Bethel.
The Bulldogs will need a strong performance on both sides of the ball as they look to improve to 2-1 in their last three games.
Following KWU, McPherson returns home for a Thursday night matchup with Ottawa University. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside the McPherson Sport Center.
Scouting Kansas Wesleyan
Kansas Wesleyan (19-1, 8-1 KCAC) has been as good as expected this seasons, as the Coyotes have climbed as high as fifth in the NAIA D-II Coaches’ Top 25 and currently rest at the No. 7 position. KWU’s lone loss of the season came on Jan. 13 against Friends University, 78-75. Since Friends, the Coyotes have knocked off Ottawa University (82-72) and, most recently, Bethel College (76-56).
Against the Threshers, Kansas Wesleyan shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the free throw line. The Coyotes forced BC into 21 turnovers and outscored the Threshers, 41-28, in the second half en route to the 20-point victory. Five Coyotes scored in double figures led by Shelby Babock, who finished the night with 18 points. Stephanie Frost recorded her team-leading fifth double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Kansas Wesleyan possesses the most dominant offensive attack in the conference, averaging 78.2 points per game, while also leading the league with 308 total assists. The Coyotes shoot 42.0 percent (537-of-1278) from the floor, 35.4 percent (175-of-495) from beyond the arc and 72.2 percent (314-of-435) from the free throw line.
KWU is a balanced offensive with five players averaging double figures. Frost leads the attack with 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while Rebekah Bunde is second on the team at 11.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Babcock is the team’s best three-point threat, shooting 44.7 percent from beyond the arc, while averaging 11.2 points per game.
Gordon Reimer is in seventh season as the head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan University women’s basketball program and owns a 91-89 record. Prior to Kansas Wesleyan, Reimer spent time as an assistant at KWU, Central Christian College and McPherson College.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – No. 10 Kansas Wesleyan hit six second half three-pointers and used a 14-2 run to break open the game for a 20-point with 10:16 remaining en route to a 71-43 victory over the McPherson College women’s basketball team on Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
The loss drops McPherson to 2-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while the Coyotes remain unbeaten at 8-0 and 1-0 in KCAC action.
The Coyotes shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) for the game from the field, including 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from three-point range. The Bulldogs meanwhile were held to a near season low 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting, and converted just 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) trips to the foul line.
McPherson hung close with the 10th ranked Coyotes through the first half, as KWU took an 33-25 lead into the break.
However, the first 10 minutes of the second half all went the Coyotes way. The Bulldogs mustered just one field goal, a Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) put back, as the Coyotes used a 14-2 run that made the score 47-27 at the 10:16 mark. McPherson cut the lead to 14 after Tori Verdieck (New Castle, Colo.) converted an and one situation, but the Bulldogs never got the offense started. The Coyotes closed the game with an 11-4 run to account for the 28 point advantage.
Senior guard Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) posted double-figures for the 10th straight game with a game-high 20 points, while forward Elice Frey (Riley, Kan.) recorded 10. McPherson did hold an 11-20 edge on fouls, leading to a 10-2 advantage on free throw points. However, the Bulldogs were also forced into 25 turnovers.
Katie Novack led the Coyotes with 15 points, including four three points, while Stephanie Frost tallied 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs will hit the road for the first time in conference play on Saturday, Dec. 4 when they take on Ottawa University. Game time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
