Women's Basketball | 2/20/2012 6:16:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – It’s KCAC tournament time and with the McPherson women’s basketball team coming off of a thrilling victory against rival Bethany College this past Saturday 59-55, the Lady Bulldogs will be full throttle for their third matchup of the season against the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. The game will be played in the Mabee Arena in Salina, Kan. on Wednesday, Feb. 22nd at 7 p.m. (CT) For a look at the complete KCAC Tournament Women's bracket, click here.
The game will be shown live on the KCAC Broadcast Network and at Macbulldogs.com. The contest will also be broadcasted live in the McPherson area on 96.7 FM KBBE MidKansas Radio and at Macbulldogs.com with Nick Gosnell on the call.
After finishing the regular season in sixth place in the KCAC, 9-9 and 14-14 overall, McPherson must now travel up to the number three seed Kansas Wesleyan, 12-6 in the conference and 17-12 for the year. This will be the second time in two weeks that the Bulldogs will have to travel to the Coyotes den of Mabee Arena.
In their game against Bethany this past Saturday, the Bulldogs were able to have three ladies in double digits scoring with Brittany Pittas (16), Taylor Puttergill (15) and Madison Chambers (12) making up 43 of the 59 MC points. Chambers was close to her second double-double in as many games, missing it by one rebound.
As a team, McPherson had a pretty average night shooting, going 6-of-18 from long range for a 33.3 percentage and 31.1 percent from the field on 19-of-61. Their 15-of-20 free-throw night was 10 percent higher than their season’s average of 66.4 percent.
MC had an outstanding showing on the offensive glass, grasping 20 rebounds; they were able to stop the Swedes from getting too many offensive boards themselves, holding them to only 9. The Bulldogs also did a great job of keeping their turnovers to the manageable number of 13.
Kansas Wesleyan will be coming into the contest after a 68-57 victory over Ottawa University this past Saturday. The Coyotes are now 4-2 in the month of February with their two losses coming on the road from a combined 11 points.
If McPherson comes out on top in the Wednesday night showdown, they will play the winner of the second seeded Southwestern vs. the seventh seed Bethel on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. (CT) The higher seed will get the honors of hosting the game.
Scouting Kansas Wesleyan
Kansas Wesleyan’s latest win secured the number three seed for the Coyotes, and brought their road record to 4-9. Fortunately for KWU, their next matchup is at home where they are 10-1, average 72.82 points and put up 74 the last time they played McPherson.
The scoring for Kansas Wesleyan in their game with Ottawa was highlighted by Shelby Babcock who had a terrific night from three-point range, going 5-of-9, and the free-throw stripe where she hit on all three of her attempts for a total of 18 points. Forward Stephanie Frost was the only other Coyote in double digits scoring with 14. Fellow forward Alecia Smith made it into double figures in another category with 10 rebounds.
The KWU team had an incredible night from beyond the arc, hitting 10 threes on just 21 tries for a 47.6 percentage. They finished the night at 44.9 percent from the field but struggled from the charity stripe, going 14-of-23.
Kansas Wesleyan leads the KCAC and is 17th in the NAIA in scoring defense by only giving up 58.59 points per appearance despite allowing the highest field goal percentage by any team in the conference. They are also in first in the KCAC and ninth in the NAIA in defensive rebounding with an average of 33.24 total rebounds grabbed by opposing teams.
Offensively, KWU sits in the middle of the standings in most scoring categories except for both three-pointers made and taken where they are third; those numbers place 44th in the NAIA Division II.
The Coyotes are led by junior Frost when it comes to scoring with her 10.1 points per contest; Frost also leads the team with her 5.9 rebounds each game and is 18th in the NAIA, fourth in the KCAC, for blocked shots with 50 on the year. Rhys Pihl and Babcock are second and third on the scoring totem pole averaging 8.28 and 7.97 points, respectively; Babcock is fifth in the KCAC for three-pointers made and for three-point percentage. Senior guard Montric Santee is second in the conference for assists, assists per game and steals this season.
Kansas Wesleyan is in the same situation as McPherson when it comes to their next game. If the Coyotes win on Wednesday, they will continue on and play Saturday at 2 p.m. and face the winner of the (2) Southwestern vs. (7) Bethel matchup. Again, the higher seed will get the honors of hosting the game.
