Women's Basketball | 12/6/2012 8:51:00 PM
Box Score
Ottawa, Kan. – The Lady Bulldogs improved to 6-5 for the season and 2-1 in conference play with their 67-62 victory over the Braves of Ottawa University on Thursday.
The first period of the contest opened with the two teams trading baskets, trying to gain control. OU managed the first five minutes, staying up by a few points before a 13-0 run by McPherson brought the score to 17-9 in favor of the Lady ‘Dogs. MC would stay in the lead for the rest of the half, getting up by as many as 12 and leading 32-22 after the first 20 minutes of play.
Hitting 14-of-28 from the field including 3-of-7 from deep helped McPherson stay out in front; MC was only able to convert on 1-of-5 from the charity stripe, well below their season average of 66.8 percent. Ottawa wasn’t as lucky from the floor, only making 36% of their attempts, 9-of-25. The Lady Braves drained 3-of-4 from the stripe and were 2-of-10 from three.
McPherson kept their double-digit lead for the first ten minutes of the second half but that’s when OU began their comeback; back-to-back three pointers by the Braves brought them within six points with 8:25 left on the clock. The score would stay within a handful of points before an 8-0 run by Ottawa put them in front for the first time in nearly 30 minutes with just over four minutes remaining. OU would hold the lead until the 1:20 mark when a field goal by
Cheyenne Eisenhour (Stafford, Kan.) put MC in front for good.
The Lady Bulldogs took more attempts but made fewer shots in the second period than the first. They were just 10-of-31 from the floor and 0-of-2 from downtown. MC made a much needed improvement from the free throw line, making 15-of-18. Ottawa made a huge jump in their shooting percentage in the second half; they drained 51.85% of their 27 attempts and were 5-of-12 from deep.
For the game, McPherson ended with a 40.7 field goal percentage but was just 3-of-9 from beyond the arc; a 69.7 percentage was recorded by the Bulldogs from the free throw line. The Lady Braves made 44.2% of their attempts in the loss and were 9-of-12 from the charity stripe, 7-of-22 from distance. MC was huge on the glass, pulling down 42 rebounds, 19 of which were on the offensive end; OU was only able to hull in 28 boards. Mac also won the turnover battle as they committed two fewer turnovers than Ottawa’s 15; McPherson also recorded 11 assists.
MC’s leading scorer for the season,
Brittany Pittas (Chicago, Ill.), led the team on Thursday with her 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 from the three-point line. Starters
Kaylee Cramer (Dighton, Kan.),
Ali Brewster (Milton, Kan.) and
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) each totaled 10 points in the victory; Chambers also grabbed 11 rebounds, five offensive, for the game’s only double-double. Fellow starter Eisenhour had an even playing game as she had six rebounds, five points, and four assists.
Amber Ramsey had a huge game for the Lady Braves, earning 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. No other Ottawa player scored, however, all but one of the 10 athletes that saw playing time scored for OU.
MC now has one day to prepare for the KCAC’s top squad, the Southwestern College Moundbuilders. That matchup is set for December 8
th at 5:00 p.m. (CT) in Winfield, Kan.
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