Women's Basketball | 2/18/2011 11:21:56 AM
Game 28: McPherson College (6-21, 4-13 KCAC) at #13 Sterling College (23-4, 15-2 KCAC)
Saturday, February 19, 2011 | 5:00 p.m. | Warrior Gymnasium | Sterling, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College women’s basketball team hopes to close the 2010-11 regular season on a high note, as the Bulldogs travel to No. 13 Sterling College Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast in the McPherson area by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio with Nick Gosnell (play-by-play) on the call. An audio stream will also be available at www.macbulldogs.com.
McPherson (6-21, 4-13 KCAC) enters the weekend needing a win and a Bethany loss to earn the final spot in the KCAC postseason tournament. The Bulldogs are currently tied for eighth place following a 57-44 win against the University of Saint Mary Thursday night.
Against USM, the Bulldogs overcame a 27.6 percent shooting performance in the second half to earn the 13-point win. As a unit, McPherson shot 30.9 percent from the field and was 20-for-30 from the foul line. The Bulldogs dominated the game defensively, turning 21 Spire turnovers into 22 points. Senior guard
Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) made the most of her final game in the Sport Center with a game-high 23 points. Along with scoring, Ozbun tallied four rebounds and three steals.
Junior forward
Elice Frey (Riley, Kan.) had her third straight strong performance with 13 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Madison Chambers recorded a team-best eight boards.
Sterling (23-4, 15-2) is ranked No. 13 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Poll and features one of the most balanced attacks in the KCAC. The Warriors rank amongst the top 10 nationally in scoring defense per game (54.9), field goal percentage defense (33.5 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (36.8 percent) and scoring margin (18.5). SC is led in scoring by senior forward Brittany Gasper, who averages 13.9 points per game on a league best 51.9 field goal percentage.
The Bulldogs KCAC tournament future will depend on the result of Saturday’s game with Sterling and Bethany College’s matchup with Tabor.
Scouting Sterling
No. 13 Sterling College heads into Saturday’s KCAC regular season finale with a 23-4 record following a 78-48 win at Bethel College Thursday night. In that game, Brittany Gasper’s 20 points led five Warriors in double figure scoring. As a unit, SC shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 87.0 percent (20-of-23) from the free throw line. The Warrior defense forced 24 Thresher turnovers, while holding Bethel to 26.9 percent shooting.
The Warriors are currently tied for first with Kansas Wesleyan University in the KCAC with a 15-2 record. Sterling controlled their own destiny, but a 55-51 loss at Ottawa University last Saturday night complicated things. OU edged the Warriors due to a 14-for-18 effort from the foul line. Both sides ended the night shooting around 35.0 percent from the field and OU held a slight, 42-39, advantage on the boards.
Prior to OU, Sterling had won nine in a row, including a 76-67 win against nationally ranked Kansas Wesleyan.
Senior forward Brittany Gasper tops SC in scoring at 13.9 points per game, while shooting a league leading 51.9 percent from the floor and adding 5.4 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Laura Patrick joins Gasper in double-figures at 11.2 points per game off the bench this season. SC’s most prolific scorer, Megan Patrick, has been seen action in only 10 games this season.
As a team, Sterling features one of the conference’s most balanced attacks. The Warriors rank in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense per game (54.9), field goal percentage defense (33.5 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (36.8 percent), scoring margin (18.5), assists to turnover ratio (1.05), 3-point field goal defense (27.6 percent), field goal percentage (44.2 percent) and turnover margin (4.8). SC has outscored opponents 1,023 to 774 in the second half alone.
The Warriors are coached by Lonnie Kruse and assisted by Steve Crandall and K.C. Bassett.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – The Warriors mounted a 10-2 run to close out the game, as the McPherson College women’s basketball team lost, 64-53, to No. 15 Sterling College Wednesday night at the McPherson College Sport Center.
Despite the loss, Bulldog senior guard Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) scored seven points to put her in a tie for third place on the MC all-time scoring list. The Rose Hill, Kan. native is knotted up with former Bulldog April Woody with 1,149 career points.
With the loss, McPherson falls to 4-15 overall and 2-7 in conference play, while the Warriors improve to 16-3 overall and 8-1 in KCAC action.
Sterling came out of the gate in the first half firing on all cylinders, opening up a 19-5 lead over the first eight minutes of play. McPherson chipped the lead back to single digits, but another Warrior burst gave SC a 34-22 lead entering the intermission.
The Warriors shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field in the first half, while MC struggled to find its offense, shooting a just 25.8 percent (8-of-31).
To start the second half, McPherson rattled off six straight baskets to cut the deficit to six, 34-28 with 17:37 remaining. Sterling would again push the lead back out to 12, but the scrappy Bulldogs utilized a 16-5 run over the next eight minutes to pull within three, 50-47, with 6:03 left in regulation.
Sterling, however, proved too strong down the stretch and never allowed MC to get any closer than three. The Warriors eventually push their advantage back to 11 points before the final buzzer sounded.
McPherson was led in scoring by freshman guard Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.), who finished the night with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. As a team, McPherson ended the contest shooting 31.0 percent (18-of-58) from the floor and forced Sterling into 17 turnovers.
Forward Madison Lucas paced the Warrior offense with 12 points, while pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Salina, Kan. to take on the nationally ranked Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
