Women's Basketball | 12/2/2011 2:09:00 PM
Game 11: McPherson College (5-5, 1-0) at Tabor College (2-7, 0-1)
Saturday, December 3, 2011 | 5 p.m. (CT) | Tabor Gymnasium | Hillsboro, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Video (KCAC Broadcast Network)
Live Audio
McPherson, Kan. - Following an impressive 74-62 win at Bethel Thursday night, the McPherson College women’s basketball team looks to continue its winning ways Saturday evening, as the Bulldogs continue their two-game road trip with Tabor College.
Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CT) and the game will be carried on the KCAC Broadcast Network at no cost to the viewer. Additionally, a live radio broadcast will be available at Macbulldogs.com.
Against Bethel, McPherson bounced back from their pre-Thanksgiving loss to Oklahoma Wesleyan with a pair of impressive individual performances from Brittany Pittas and Elice Frey. Pittas led the Bulldogs with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a career-best five 3-point baskets. Frey joined Pittas in double figures with 17 points, while pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
With the win, McPherson has won four of its last five contests to enter the weekend with a 5-5 overall record and 1-0 conference mark.
Tabor comes into the match on the opposite end of the spectrum following a 75-60 loss at Southwestern to open KCAC play Thursday night. The loss gives the Blue Jays and first year head coach Shawn Reed a 2-7 overall record and 0-1 mark in KCAC play. TC’s two victories this season came against Haskell (64-59) and Southwestern Christian (64-63).
Scouting Tabor
Tabor returns to the friendly confines of Tabor Gymnasium with a 2-7 record and 0-1 mark in KCAC play following a 75-60 loss at Southwestern College on Thursday night. Prior to Southwestern, the Blue Jays had won two of their last three, including victories against Haskell (64-59) and Southwestern Christian (64-63). Tabor, now under the direction of first-year head coach Shawn Winter, opened the season with a five-game losing streak, including a pair of blowout losses at Park (62-32) and Concordia (79-34).
Against Southwestern, Tabor competed heartily for the opening 20 minutes, including tying the game five times, but never got over the hump as the Moundbuilders proved too strong in the second period. TC led the contest only once, 2-1 at 17:48 in the first half. The Blue Jays ended the contest shooting 34.8 percent (23-of-66) from the field, including an impressive 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc. Tynan Honn paced the offense with a season-high tying 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting and a 4-of-5 effort from the foul line. Additionally, Honn led Tabor with a game-high eight rebounds.
On the season, Tabor struggles offensive averaging only 55.1 points per game, while allowing opponents an average of 66.9. The Blue Jays set a season-high with 70 points in a loss to Johnson & Wales (Colo.) on Nov. 12, marking the only time this season TC has scored more than 65 points. Ball control has been another issue for Tabor, as they average 23.0 turnovers per game this season, including three games of more than 30 giveaways.
A bright spot for the Jays has been their perimeter defense. TC enters the weekend ranked 25th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to only a 27.6 percent success rate from beyond the arc.
Individually, Honn and teammate Katlyn Mary are the headliners for the Blue Jay offensive attack. Honn leads the team with a 12.2 points per game average, while ranking second on the squad at 5.6 rebounds per contest. Honn has scored in double figures seven times this season, including tying a season-high of 16 points three times. She owns one double-double of the season when she scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Johnson & Wales.
Mary, who acts as TC’s primary 3-point threat, is second on the squad at 11.3 points per game, but leads the team with 15 3-point baskets and a 79.2 percent free throw percentage. Mary set a season best with 17 points in TC’s 61-53 loss against Mid-American Christian (Okla.) on Nov. 7.
After McPherson, Tabor will remain home for a midweek contest with Kansas Wesleyan, before travel to Ottawa on Dec. 10 to close out the pre-holiday portion of their KCAC regular season schedule.
In their last meeting...
Hillsboro, Kan. – Despite outscoring the Blue Jays 31-24 in the second period, the McPherson College women’s basketball team could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit to fall on the road, 47-43, at Tabor College Thursday night.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 5-20 overall on the year, 3-12 KCAC, while Tabor improved to 10-15 overall and 7-8 in league play.
In the first half, McPherson fell behind early, scoring only five points in the opening eight minutes as the Jays raced out to a 15-5 lead. However, junior forward Elice Frey (Riley, Kan.) broke the scoring slump with six straight points to pull McPherson back within nine, 20-11. McPherson would add a Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) free throw before entering the locker room down 23-12 at the half.
The Bulldogs would battle back early in the second half, outscoring Tabor 21-7 over the opening 9:30 of the period to pull within one, 32-31, with 10:25 remaining in regulation. Nevertheless, as it proved to be the story of the second half, the Blue Jays would do just enough to keep MC from tying or taking the lead.
McPherson would pull within one point four times in the period, but failed to take the lead. Tabor was too strong from the foul line in the final minutes to earn the four-point win.
Overall, McPherson was led in scoring by Frey, who scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and pulled down nine rebounds. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 27.0 percent (17-of-63) from the field, 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from three-point range and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the free throw line.
Tabor was led by forward Tynan Honn’s 18 points, while Whitney Polosky tallied 12 to round out the TC double figure scorers. The Blue Jays connected on 34.1 percent (15-of-44) of attempts from the floor.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday night when they host Bethany College. Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Swedes is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
