Women's Basketball | 12/1/2011 8:54:00 PM
Box Score Box Score
North Newton, Kan. – Freshman guard
Brittany Pittas (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including five 3-pointers, as the McPherson College women’s basketball team wins for the first time at Bethel College since Jan. 2008, 74-62, Thursday night in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference action.
With the win, McPherson improves to 5-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while the Threshers fall to 4-4 and 0-1.
Pittas, who scored 19 of her 21 in the second half, added three steals, two assists and one rebound in the effort. With the performance, she extends her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games. Joining Pittas in double-figures was senior forward
Elice Frey (Riley, Kan.), who posted her second double-double of the season with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The two sides battled for a majority of the first half, as 14 Bulldog turnovers handicapped McPherson into only a 31-27 advantage at the break. MC shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the field in the opening frame, while holding Bethel to only 29.0 percent (9-of-31).
Despite the lead, McPherson opened the second period flat, which allowed Bethel to tie the score, 31-31, on back-to-back scores by Taylor Durant and Payton Walker. The contest remained close until midway through the period when Pittas capped a 15-2 McPherson run with 11 straight points to give MC a 50-39 lead with 10:54 remaining.
However, Bethel answered the run with an 11-4 stretch to cut the MC advantage to 54-50 at the 6:04 mark. The Bulldogs mustered only one field goal during the stretch.
Both sides traded baskets until McPherson sealed the victory with an 11-3 run behind another nine points from Pittas. The stretch gave MC a 70-56 lead with just under two minutes remaining. Bethel would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
As a team, McPherson shot a season-best 54.5 percent (30-for-55) from the field, including 6-for-14 from 3-point range. Additionally, the Bulldogs held a 39-34 edge in rebounds. The lone black mark on the contest was McPherson’s 28 turnovers.
Jessica Muckenthaler and Payton Walker led Bethel with 12 points each, as the Threshers shot 30.7 percent (23-of-75) from the field as a team.
McPherson returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 3 when they travel to Tabor College. Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CT).
