Women's Basketball | 12/6/2011 3:40:00 PM
Game 12: McPherson College (6-5, 2-0) vs. Sterling College (3-4, 0-2)
Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 | 6 p.m. (CT) | McPherson Sport Center | McPherson, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Video
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McPherson, Kan. - The McPherson College women’s basketball team returns home for the first time during conference play, as the Bulldogs host Sterling College on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Tipoff inside the McPherson Sport Center is set for 6 p.m. (CT) and the game will be streamed live on the KCAC Broadcast Network and Macbulldogs.com. Additionally, radio coverage in the McPherson area will be provided by 96.7 FM KBBE MidKansas Radio with Nick Gosnell on the call.
The Bulldogs enter the contest with a 6-5 overall record and 2-0 mark in league play following a 62-52 victory at Tabor last Saturday. With the win, McPherson tied its win total from last season.
Against the Blue Jays, McPherson shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, including a 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) effort from beyond the arc, while hold Tabor to only 28.8 percent (17-of-59) shooting. Forward Elice Frey continued her tremendous week with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds in the effort.
Sterling, who entered the season ranked 17th in the top 25 poll, has struggled through the early part of the season to a 3-4 overall record and 0-2 mark in conference play. Possibly their most surprising loss of the season came last week when the Warriors fell at Saint Mary, 69-72.
The Bulldogs are 0-10 against the Warriors over their last 10 meetings and have not defeated SC since Jan. 18, 2003 (83-74).
Following Sterling, McPherson wraps up the pre-holiday portion of its KCAC schedule when they host Saint Mary on Saturday, Dec. 10.
Scouting Sterling
Perennial conference power Sterling College limps into Thursday’s matchup with McPherson with a 3-4 overall record and 0-2 mark in conference play following a 70-75 loss to Southwestern on Saturday. The defeat by the Moundbuilders extended SC’s losing streak to three games, as the Warriors have not won since Nov. 19 when they defeated Southwestern Christian (Okla.), 79-71.
Against Southwestern, the two sides shot nearly identical from the field (40 percent), but the Moundbuilders connected on five more free throws than the Warriors to earn the five-point victory. Despite the loss, forward Megan Patrick posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She finished the contest 6-of-11 from the field, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range. Guard Kayla Eilert joined Patrick in double-digits with 15 points, while Kelly Curtis added 12 points and Cassi Spleiss chipped in 10, respectively.
On the year, Patrick is the lone Warrior averaging double figures with 16.6 points, while grabbing team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. She has scored at least 10 points in all of SC’s games this season, including a season-high 21 points in the season opener against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) and against York (Neb.).
Forward Kinsley Hilst is next in scoring for Sterling at 9.7 points per game. Additionally, she ranks third on the team with 11 assists.
As a team, the Warriors average 68.9 points per game, while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor. Sterling ranks amongst the NAIA Top 25 in blocks per game (4.0), free throw percentage (73.6 percent), field goal percentage (41.8 percent), total rebound defense (35.4) and field goal percentage defense (35.9).
In thier last meeting...
Sterling, Kan. – Despite a lead with eight minutes the play, the McPherson College women’s basketball team dropped a defensive battle, 57-44, at Sterling College on Saturday night.
Junior forward Elice Frey recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds to earn her second double-double of the season, while senior Kristen Ozbun and freshman Tori Verdeick added nine points apiece in the effort. Ozbun hit MC’s lone 3-point basket on the night.
Sterling senior forward Brittany Gasper paced the Warriors with 22 points, including 10 from the free throw line. Ten of Gasper’s 22 points came in the final six minutes of regulation.
McPherson (6-22, 4-14 KCAC) shot 30.0 percent (18-of-60) from the field, while Sterling (24-4, 16-2 KCAC) hit 30.6 percent (19-of-62) of attempts. The Warriors outscored McPherson, 16-7, at the free throw line.
The game started with Sterling jumping out to a 5-0 lead following a Jannica Schultze jumper and Erica Herman 3-pointer. However, McPherson tightened up on the defensive end, holding the Warriors without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. During the stretch, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to one, 10-11, with 11:39 remaining in the period.
Sterling pushed their lead out to six, 19-15, with just under five minutes left, but four straight Ozbun free throws pulled MC within two. Each team added another basket, as the Warriors took a 23-21 advantage into the break.
Neither team shot better than 30 percent from the floor in the half.
The Bulldogs opened the second period with the hotter hand, as Frey runner gave MC its first lead of the night, 27-26, with 16:51 remaining. McPherson would stretch its lead out as far as five, but Sterling would not go away.
SC took back the lead with 7:54 left on Schultz’s lone 3-pointer of the night, 40-38. McPherson knotted the score at 40-40 with two Verdeick free throws, but it would be all Sterling from that point on, as the Bulldogs only scored two field goals over the final six minutes of the game.
The loss wraps up an up and down season for the Bulldogs.
