Women's Basketball | 2/19/2012 12:23:00 AM
Box Score
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College women’s basketball team ended their four-game skid on Senior night this Saturday, defeating Bethany 59-55 in an exciting back and forth battle.
McPherson got out to a hot start, taking the lead from the get-go with the largest separation (19-10) coming at the 7:37 mark in the opening period. BC quickly retaliated and within four minutes, took the lead 22-21 with 3:33 left in the half. At the break, the Swedes were up 26-25. After halftime, Bethany attempted to pull away but MC stuck in there, never letting the lead get more than a few points away. The Lady Bulldogs jumped ahead for the first time (56-55) in the second half with only 1:12 remaining in the game. McPherson was able to hold on to the lead thanks to an “and-1” by sophomore
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) with 21 seconds left, making the final 59-55.
The victory puts the Bulldogs back at .500 for the season at 14-14 overall and 9-9 in the conference. The Swedes drop to 1-17 in the KCAC, 4-25 for the season, and are now down for the year.
MC’s top scorer of the evening was freshman
Brittany Pittas (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) who was able to convert on 4-of-8 from distance and hit all four of her free-throw attempts, ending the night with 16.
Taylor Puttergill (Tryon, Neb.) went 50 percent from the field, shooting 6-of-12 for 15 points; Puttergill was perfect from the charity stripe (2-2) and three-point line (1-1). The aforementioned Chambers had 12 points and was one rebound away from her second consecutive double-double.
Bethany was led by sophomore post, Heather Eddings who had a career best 19 points. Their season’s leading scorer, Tasha Wagoner, bucketed 16 points on just 5-of-16. The others on the Swede roster were only able to produce 20 points combined.
BC had an incredible second half when it comes to shooting percentages. They went 50 percent from behind the arc (2-4) and from the field (11-22) as well. Their free-throw percentage wasn’t that bad either as they made 6-of-8.
The McPherson team shot below their season average from both the field, going 19-of-61, and three-point land, hitting just six of their 18 long range attempts. From the free-throw line however, they had a 10 percent improvement from the season’s average as they shot 75 percent on 15-of-20.
Rebounding has been a problem for the Lady Bulldogs as of late but tonight was a different story. MC was able to grab a total 43 rebounds including 20 on the offensive end. Those offensive boards helped McPherson get to the free-throw stripe 20 times in the contest.
With their victory, MC stays in sixth place in the KCAC and will travel to the number three seed, Kansas Wesleyan, on Wednesday, Feb. 22
nd. The game is scheduled to be played at 7 p.m. (CT) in the Mabee Arena in Salina, Kan.
