Women's Basketball | 12/20/2012 1:20:00 PM
Live Audio
McPherson, Kan. – Following an exhibition loss to NCAA D-II Newman University, the women’s basketball program of McPherson College is now focusing its attention on their two non-conference games that occur over the college’s Christmas break.
MC will first travel to Baldwin City, Kansas to take on the Baker University Wildcats on December 29th, tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (CT). The team follows that game up with a trip to York, Nebraska to face the York College Panthers for the second time this season; that competition is set for January 1st at 2:00 p.m.
The game will be broadcasted live in the McPherson area on 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio and on the world wide web at Macbulldogs.com with Nick Gosnell on the call with Steve Sell providing the color commentary for the broadcast. All links to live game statistics, audio or video can be found at Macbulldogs.com
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a tough road-test against a talented NCAA Division II team in the Newman University Lady Jets. The period started with each team scoring buckets back-and-forth, trading the lead until a quick run by the Jets gave Newman the halftime lead. Mac played one of their best first halves of the season against NU, trailing just 45-34 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
In the second half, NU was determined to prove that there was a reason they played in the NCAA; the Jets came out firing and hitting most of their opening minute shots, taking away nearly all hope McPherson had of coming back. Newman held a 20+ advantage for the majority of the period, forcing turnovers by using full court pressure. The Lady Jets pushed their lead into the 30s down the stretch when both team’s reserve players were on the court; NU came out victorious 93-62.
After scoring eight points in the first half, Cami Engelbert finished the game with 14 points, all two-point field goals. 12 points were accumulated by Maddison Chambers, second on the team. Cheyenne Eisenhour and Chandler Short both put in seven points in the loss.
The Lady ‘Dogs sit at 6-6 this season and 2-2 in the KCAC. Following their non-conference games, McPherson will be looking to start the New Year off on the right foot, playing host to the University of Saint Mary on the 3rd of January and then Friends University on the 5th; tipoff for the game against the Spires is at 6:00 p.m. (CT) while the contest against the Falcons is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. with the junior varsity playing prior.
Scouting Baker
The Baker Wildcats sit at 9-4 and are 2-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Most of their games have been either blowout wins or blowout losses; their closest loss was against the KCAC’s Friends University when the Falcons took down Baker 56-49. Two games later, BU had a close win over another KCAC school, Southwestern College, defeating the Moundbuilders 74-66.
Baker is coming off one of their blowout wins as they took down Central Christian of Mobe 83-61; this is the second time the Lady Wildcats defeated CCM this season. In their most recent matchup, a 28-of-56 shooting night, including going 52.6% from distance, helped BU take down Central Christian of Mobe; CCM went just 20-of-57 from the field but were 20-of-21 from the charity stripe. The Wildcats tallied 10 steals and 16 assists to help their cause.
Alisha Fanshier came in off the bench and helped her scoring average by totaling a game-high 22 points on 6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Kyrstie Ehm was the only other Baker player to reach double-digits, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
As a team, Baker is scoring an average of 71 points per contest and is making 41.5 percent of their field goal attempts. Eight three balls are scored on average, eighth best in the NAIA, by the Wildcats as they shoot 36.2% from distance. The team has accumulated 34 blocks this season and has recorded the 19th highest number of assists in the NAIA D-I with 184.
12.5 points per game are averaged by Fanshier to lead BU; she is draining 47.3% of her shots from the floor. Fanshier is ranked second in the Nation in free throw percentage at 88.2 and her 51.4 percentage from downtown is seeded third in the NAIA. Forward Rece Huddlin has grabbed 98 total rebounds this year and is averaging 7.54 per contest, both team highs; she also leads the team in steals and blocks with 14 and eight, respectively. Rashida Simpson is averaging 9.2 points each time she hits the floor and is second on the team in rebounds per game with 7.1.
A home game against fellow HAAC school, Peru State, awaits the Wildcats after their contest against McPherson.
Scouting York
The Panthers faced McPherson nearly a month ago and the Bulldogs came out victorious 90-67. Since then, York’s only game came on December 13th against Friends University which YC lost 68-53. York is currently 1-11 overall and has yet to play a game against a conference opponent.
In their contest against the Lady Falcons, YC struggled from the field, hitting only 35.6% of their field goal attempts and was just 12-of-21 from the free throw stripe; the Panthers did hit 47.4 percent of their three-point shots, going 9-of-19. Friends on the other hand, drained nearly 10 more shots than the Panthers and took almost 20 more attempts; the Falcons ended the game 25-of-62 from the floor. Both teams couldn’t hold on to the ball as York turned the ball over three more times than Friends, committing 24 TOs. The Falcons controlled the boards, grabbing 36 rebounds compared to just 25 by York.
Sara Lincoln led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from behind the arc and going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Marisa Maher hit five shots from the field as well, making 5-of-10 from the field for 12 points; she also led the team in rebounds with six. Only nine points were scored by the bench players of York in their loss.
The Lady Panthers are averaging 54.5 points per game and are have a negative scoring margin of 25.8 points. The squad is hitting just 35.1% of their attempts from the field and is 32.7 percent from distance. They are getting outrebounded by over 10 rebounds per game and turn the ball over 25.4 times per contest while stealing back 9.8 an outing.
Lincoln puts in a team-high 15.25 per contest from the field while making 41.8 percent of her attempts; she is ranked 18th in the NAIA D-II in three pointers made per game with 2.5 and is 21st in three-point percentage at 41.7. Maher averages eight points a game and 5.75 rebounds which is the best on the team.
Conference play starts up for York following their home contest with the Bulldogs. The Panthers will take on Central Baptist of Arkansas for their first Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference game.
