Women's Basketball | 2/4/2011 1:51:26 PM
Game 24: McPherson College (5-18, 3-10) at RV Southwestern College (16-6, 9-4)
Saturday, February 5, 2011 | 5:00 p.m. | Stewart Field House | Winfield, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
Following a disappointing showing against Friends University, the McPherson College women’s basketball program looks to bounce back this Saturday, as the Bulldogs travel to Winfield, Kan. to take on Southwestern College.
Tipoff from Stewart Field House is set for 5:00 p.m. for the Bulldogs’ final regular season meeting with Southwestern. The game will be broadcast in the McPherson area by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio and an audio stream will be available at www.macbulldogs.com.
McPherson (5-18, 3-10 KCAC) look to rebound after a disappointing 47-65 loss to Friends University Thursday night. In that game, McPherson shot a dismal 19.4 percent from the field in the first period, while turning the ball over 26 times. The Bulldogs trailed as much as 31, but a 21-3 run midway through the second half pulled MC within 15, 55-40, with four minutes remaining. Defensively, MC held Friends to only 37.1 percent shooting, but the Falcons came up big at the foul line, knocking down 81.0 percent of their free throws.
The Bulldogs are looking forward to the opportunity to play Southwestern for a second time. In their first meeting, Southwestern edged McPherson 50-48 due mostly to the Builders timely free throw shooting. MC’s defense held the Builders to just 31.5 percent shooting, while forcing 27 turnovers. McPherson will need to play as well as they did in their first matchup to earn a win at Stewart Field House.
Southwestern (16-6, 9-4 KCAC) is coming off a 81-78 double overtime win against Bethel College Thursday night. The victory gives SWC wins in 10 of their last 12 and maintains third place position in the KCAC standings. Against Bethel, junior guard Brett Bates scored a season-high 25 points, most of which came from her 17-of-19 effort from the free throw line.
Looking past the Builders, McPherson will travel to Tabor College on Thursday, February 10. Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Scouting Southwestern
If you eliminate games against nationally ranked Kansas Wesleyan University and Sterling College, the Southwestern women’s basketball program would enter the weekend with an undefeated mark in conference play. However, the Moundbuilders are 16-6 overall and 9-4 in league play following an 81-78 double overtime victory at Bethel College Thursday night. The victory gives SWC 10 wins in their last 12 games.
Despite Southwestern’s success entering Thursday’s contest, the Threshers held the Builders to just 36.5 percent (23-of-63) shooting and forced them into 27 turnovers. However, Southwestern, as they have all season long, proved to strong at the free throw line converting 31-of-45 attempts. Junior guard Brett Bates tallied a career-high 25 points, mostly due to her 17-of-19 effort from the charity stripe, while freshman forward Zefiryn Bryan scored 16 points and seven rebounds.
Bates tops SWC in scoring averaging 14.4 points per game to enter the week ranked fifth in the KCAC. She shoots 42.0 percent from the field and leads the team with 54 assists. The most impressive portion of Bates’ game is her free throw shooting. She currently ranks fourth nationally by shooting 90.5 percent (86-of-95) from the foul line. In her first meeting with McPherson, Bates scored 12 points on 5-of-4 shooting and never made an appearance at the charity stripe.
Senior forward Tylar Hartfield joins Bates as the only other Builder averaging double figures at 10.2 points per game, while ranking second in the league with 188 total rebounds (8.5 rebounds per game). She leads the team with six double-doubles, including back-to-back 13 rebound performances against Kansas Wesleyan and Sterling in early December.
As a team, Southwestern shoots 37.5 percent from the floor and averages 71.8 points per game.
The Builders are coached by Dave Denly and assisted by Jack McNickle, Jason VenJohn and Jason Jeschke.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – Despite forcing the Moundbuilders into 27 turnovers, the McPherson College women’s basketball team fell just short as Southwestern defeated the Bulldogs 50-48 Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
With the loss, McPherson falls to 3-12 overall and 1-4 in conference play, while the Builders improve to 10-4 and 3-2.
Both sides struggled with possession in the first half, as the Bulldogs forced the Builders into 16 turnovers, but committed 13 of their own. Despite the sloppy play, McPherson connected on 39.3 percent (11-of-28) of its shots to take a 26-21 lead into the break.
However, McPherson went cold early in the second half going nearly 10 minutes without a field goal as the Builders held a 44-35 lead with 6:17 remaining. Regardless of slow start, the Bulldogs chipped away at SWC’s lead pulling within two after Brooke Weisenburger (Gardner, Kan.) buried a wide-open three pointer, 46-48.
After forcing a Southwestern turnover, McPherson had an opportunity to tie the game as Elice Frey (Riley, Kan.) was sent to the line. Frey would connect on one of two free throws to make it a 48-47 Southwestern advantage. However, McPherson was unable to net the go-ahead basket as Southwestern came away with the victory.
On the night, McPherson shot 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the field and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the free throw line. Senior guard Kristen Ozbun (Rose Hill, Kan.) tallied a team-high 12 points, three rebounds and three steals, while Tori Verdieck (New Castle, Colo.) tallied eight points in the effort.
Southwestern’s Zefiryn Bryan led the team with 14 points, while Brett Bates tallied 12 of her own.
McPherson returns to action on Saturday night when they host Tabor College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the McPherson Sport Center.
