Women's Basketball | 2/16/2011 1:46:34 PM
SENIOR NIGHT
Game 27: McPherson College (5-21, 3-13 KCAC) vs University of Saint Mary (9-18, 2-14 KCAC)
Thursday, February 17, 2011 | 6:00 p.m. | McPherson Sport Center | McPherson, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College women’s basketball team hosts the University of Saint Mary Thursday night in the Bulldogs final regular season game at the McPherson Sport Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast in the McPherson are by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas radio with Bulldog play-by-play announcer Nick Gosnell on the call. An audio stream will be available for out of market individuals on www.macbulldogs.com.
The Bulldogs (5-21, 3-13 KCAC) enter the week looking to finish the season on a high note following a 54-49 loss against Bethany College last Saturday. Against the Swedes, McPherson could not overcome a 20.7 percent first half-shooting effort, as Bethany connected on 54.5 percent in the second half.
In the loss, guard
Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) led the team with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting, including three three-pointers. Ozbun is the lone senior on the squad and will be honored during the night. Earlier this season, she wrote herself into the record book by passing April Woody for third on the all-time scoring list. Ozbun enters the week with 1,223 career points in 104 games, including 77 consecutive starts. She is only the third player in McPherson women’s basketball history to eclipse the 1,200-point plateau.
Much like their first meeting, McPherson will need a strong effort on both sides of the ball to knock off a defensive minded Saint Mary squad.
The Spires are 9-18 overall and 2-14 in KCAC play following a 71-60 win against Bethel College over the weekend. USM had one of its best shooting performances of the season at 53.3 percent from the field, 57.1 percent beyond the arc and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. Junior forward Jasmine Johnson led the team with 21 points, while Samantha Ciani tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Following USM, the Bulldogs will travel to nationally ranked Sterling College to wrap up the regular season. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Scouting USM
Saint Mary has been a bit of a disappointment in the KCAC, as the Spires are 9-18 overall and 2-14 in league play. USM, which was picked eighth in the preseason poll, will look to win back-to-back games for the first time since November Thursday night against McPherson. Last Saturday, USM knocked off Bethel College, 71-60, to snap a five game losing streak.
Against the Threshers, the Spires torched the nets shooting 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the field, 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the free throw line. USM also out-rebounded Bethel, 46-32. Junior forward Jasmine Johnson led USM with a season-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line, while senior forward Samantha Ciani recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Ciani is the lone Spire averaging double figures at 10.5 points per game, while pulling down a team leading 8.9 rebounds per contest. Her 231 total rebounds leads the KCAC by 25 boards, while ranking 27th nationally. In her first meeting with McPherson, she scored just eight points.
USM features a strong defense and aggressive rebounding, as the Spires rank amongst the top 15 nationally in rebound margin (9.3), defensive rebounds per game (29.9), total rebounds per game (44.3), total total rebound offense (1197) and scoring defense per game (58.6). However, USM’s defense has not correlated into wins due mostly to inconsistent offense. The Spires average only 52.8 points per game on 35.2 percent shooting on the year.
The Spires are coached by Michael Basler and assisted by Dawn Walker and Butch Basler.
In their last meeting...
Leavenworth, Kan. – McPherson struggled to maintain a consistent offensive attack for much of the game, but provided itself enough of a cushion early in the first half to pull out a 59-48 victory over the University of Saint Mary on Saturday afternoon in Leavenworth.
The victory, the first on the road in conference play for the Bulldogs, improves McPherson to 4-14 overall and 2-6 in KCAC action, while the Spires drop to 7-11 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
The Bulldogs opened the game with a 12-2 run, including back-to-back layups by Elice Frey (Riley, Kan.) to force a USM timeout with 16 minutes left in the opening period. McPherson continued its offensive pressure maintaining its 10-point lead for the first eight minutes of the contest. USM cut the deficit to four late in the period on a Michelle Chrisman three-pointer, but it was McPherson that held a 29-24 halftime advantage.
In the period, McPherson shot 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Frey led the Bulldogs at the break with eight points on 4-of-8 shooting.
However, the Bulldogs struggled early in the second period, going nearly 10 minutes before recording a point from the field. Despite the lack of offense, McPherson maintained its tenacious defense and never allowed the Spires to gain the advantage. With 5:33 remaining, Frey again sparked what would be a 10-4 run by the Bulldogs with a layup past a pair of USM defenders. The run would give the Bulldogs a 13 point, 54-41 lead with less than two minutes in the game.
For the game, McPherson connected on 34.5 percent (19-of-55) of attempts from the field and were 19-of-29 from the free throw line. Defensively, the Bulldogs held the Spires to a dismal 28.3 percent shooting and outrebounded USM, 48-45.
Frey finished the game as the Bulldogs leading scorer with a game high 16 points, while Brooke Weisenburger (Gardner, Kan.) added 12 points and three assists in the win.
McPherson returns to action on Wednesday night when they play host to nationally ranked Sterling College. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
