Women's Basketball | 11/29/2012 11:22:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – McPherson College traveled up old highway 81 for an inner-county rivalry game against the Lady Swedes on Thursday. MC proved to be victorious, winning 67-53 in a game that was heavily dominated by the Lady Bulldogs. McPherson is now 5-4 this season and undefeated in the KCAC at 1-0.
The opening half was fully controlled by Mac as they started the game with a 10-0 run in the first five minutes. MC can credit team defense for their early advantage; the fact that Bethany scored their first field goal with 11:40 showing on the clock and by that time, McPherson had knocked in 16 points of their own. The Lady Bulldogs extended their lead to 20+ and were up 43-22 at halftime; a lot of MC’s buckets were hustle points as the squad fought for every basket.
Ali Brewster (Milton, Kan.) had a near-perfect first period as she made 4-of-4 from the field, including going 3-of-3 from deep but missed one of her four free throws; she had 14 points heading into the locker room. McPherson hit on 45.7% of their shots from the floor and converted 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs did a great job of distributing the ball as they had eight assists and only four turnovers. BC had a poor shooting half, making just 9-of-29 for a 31 field goal percentage; they only drained one three pointer and were just 3-of-6 from the stripe.
In the second period, McPherson started the half in cruise control as they maintained their 20-point advantage throughout most of the first 10 minutes. The Lady Swedes started to create a comeback but MC quickly switched to a 3-2 zone that helped quite the attack. The Bulldogs’ reserves played most of the final part of the game as Mac easily won 67-53.
The hot-shooting by MC died off in the second half as they hit 35.7 percent of their field goals; they finished shooting 41.3% from the floor. Going just 2-of-7 from the free throw line hurt the squad’s overall percentage; they ended the game 10-of-16. Despite being outsized by Bethany, McPherson held their own on the glass, grabbing 41 boards to BC’s 42.
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) followed up her 13-point first half with five more in the second for 18 total points on 8-of-15 shooting. Brewster finished up the game with 17 points, making nearly all her shots from the floor as she went 5-of-7; she also tallied four assists and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. MC had four players reach the six-point mark in the win.
Bethany was led in scoring by Kendra Austin who made four of her 17 shots for 12 points. Kaitlyn Norton followed with 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting. On the glass, Nicole Felker had 11 rebounds to lead the Swedes.
A tough home contest against Tabor College now awaits MC as the Lady Bulldogs, who have won five of their last six games, look to stay at the top of the KCAC. Tipoff for the competition is set for 5:00 p.m. (CT); the junior varsity squad will play earlier in the day at 2:00 p.m.
Make sure to follow Bulldog Nation on Facebook (MCathletics) and Twitter (@MAC_Bulldogs)
