Women's Basketball | 1/7/2011 3:28:52 PM
Game 16: McPherson College (3-12, 1-4) vs Tabor College (5-10, 2-3)
Saturday, January 8, 2011 | 5:00 p.m. | McPherson, Kan. | McPherson College Sport Center
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College women’s basketball team looks to bounce back, as the Bulldogs take on Tabor College on Saturday, January 8 in KCAC action. The Bulldogs bring a 3-12 overall record and 1-4 mark in conference action following a hard fought, 50-48, loss at Southwestern College Thursday night.
Tipoff for the matchup between McPherson and Tabor is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Radio coverage will be provided by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio with an audio stream available at www.macbulldogs.com
Against Southwestern, McPherson shot 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the field, but could not recover after going nearly 10 minutes without a field goal the open the second half. Despite the drought, the Bulldogs trailed by only five with 4:30 remaining after a
Brandi Florian (Russell, Kan.) putback. However, Southwestern would do just enough to hold off the surging McPherson attack.
Senior guard
Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 12 points, while freshman
Tori Verdieck (New Castle, Colo.) added eight and
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) chipped in eight. Ozbun’s 12 points move her just 41 points behind former Bulldog April Woody for third on the all-time scoring list. On the year, Ozbun is averaging 16.7 points per game and owns 1,108 career points.
Tabor comes into the game with a 5-10 record and a 2-3 mark in conference play after defeating Bethel College, 77-52 on Thursday. The victory snapped the Jays second five game losing streak of the season. TC was led in scoring by freshman Amy Jo Maphet with a career-high 26 points.
Following Tabor, McPherson hits the road to play Bethany College next Thursday night in Lindsborg, Kan. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Scouting Tabor
Tabor (5-10, 2-3) comes into Saturday’s contest off an impressive 77-52 win at Bethel College Thursday night. The victory snapped a five game losing streak by the Blue Jays. Against Bethel, TC shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the floor, including an impressive 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from beyond the three-point arc. In addition to the timely shooting, Tabor forced the Threshers into 22 turnovers, while holding a 43-35 advantage in rebounding. Freshman guard Amy Jo Maphet exploded for a career-high 26 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including going 5-of-7 from three-point range. The performance marked the first time Maphet has scored double-digits this season. Her previous game high was nine points against Ottawa University on Dec. 11.
It has been a season of streaks to this point as the Blue Jays have had two five game losing streaks. Despite the struggles, Tabor has managed a 2-3 mark in conference action with wins against the University of Saint Mary (61-37) and Bethel (77-52).
Sophomore guard Katlyn Mary paces the Blue Jay offense, averaging a team best 11.2 points per game, including a 16-point effort Thursday night against Bethel College. Mary has scored in double figures nine times, including a season-best 17-point effort on Nov. 20 against Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
As a team, Tabor is allowing opponents an average of 63.3 points per game and a 38.0 percent field goal percentage. One of the Blue Jays biggest struggles in 2010-11 has been rebounding, as TC owns a -9.1 rebounding margin.
The Blue Jays are coached by fourth year head coach Shawn Winter.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College women’s basketball team held Tabor to its third fewest points of the season, as the Bulldogs led for 37 minutes to finish in a 65-46 victory Saturday night at the McPherson Sport Center. The win snaps a 10 game losing streak by the Bulldogs improving their record to 5-15 and 2-10 in KCAC action.
With the scored knotted at two just a couple minutes into the first half, McPherson exploded for a 21-3 run spanning ten minutes to take a 23-5 lead with 7:26 left in the first half. Tabor would cut the lead to 10, 25-15, but would get no closer than that the rest of the way.
Senior forward Carley Sharp was one of three Bulldogs in double figures, scoring a team-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Brooke Weisenburger added 11, Kristen Ozbun 10, while Shireana Robinson chipped in eight points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Tynan Honn was the only Bluejay in double figures, scoring 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the loss.
After cold shooting to start the half, McPherson caught fire to build a 23-5 lead with a little more than seven minutes left in the first half. During the run, the Bulldogs held Tabor without a field goal for over ten minutes.
Tabor attempted to match the McPherson run with a 10-2 streak of their own, but the Bulldog defense tightened to hold TC to only three points in the final three minutes of the first half. McPherson entered the locker room with a 34-18 halftime lead.
McPherson shot 35.1 percent in the first half, while holding Tabor to only 21.4 percent. The Bulldogs forced TC into 11 first half turnovers, while committing only four of their own.
The Bulldogs continued to stretch their lead in the second half and were on top 51-31 with 7:21 to play following a Robinson basket. A pair of Mackenzie Dick three-pointers trimmed the lead to 15 a couple of minutes later before Emily James snapped the 6-0 run with a three of her own.
James’ three acted as the nail in the coffin for the Bluejays as they were unable to get closer than 17 the rest of the way.
McPherson finished the night shooting 38.2 percent from the field, including 41.9 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs dominated the offensive glass with 21 rebounds, which turned into 17 second chance points for MC.
