Women's Basketball | 1/10/2013 11:13:00 PM
Box Score
Salina, Kan. – McPherson improved to 10-7 overall and 4-3 in the KCAC with a 56-52 win in Salina, Kansas against the Lady Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University. The victory places MC in a tie for fourth in the conference standings at 4-3; Mac is 10-7 overall.
Right out of the gate, the Lady Bulldogs picked up the KWU offense at half court and created turnovers which led to some quick points, putting McPherson up 11-6 early. Mac then went on a turnover-streak but were able to maintain their advantage, increasing their lead to as many as 10 points; the double-digit score margin was short lived as KWU scored on the next possession and kept the score in single digits. A 17-3 run put the Lady Coyotes in front 32-29 at halftime.
MC hit on 13-of-32 from the field but were just 1-of-4 from deep; just five free throws were put up by the Lady ‘Dogs, they made two. KWU struggled from the floor, converting just 28.1 percent of their attempts, two of which were three pointers; an amazing 20 free throws were shot by Kansas Wesleyan as MC recorded 12 fouls.
The first five minutes of the second half were controlled by the Lady Coyotes but a three pointer by
Cheyenne Eisenhour (Stafford, Kan.) put McPherson up 38-36, giving them a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game. MC kept their advantage around five points and were able to increase it to 10 with just under 10 minutes left on the clock. Kansas Wesleyan pulled within two points but by that time, there was just one minute remaining. The Bulldogs only made 2-of-4 from the stripe in the game’s final minute but their defense held KWU, preserving their 56-52 victory.
MC’s shooting percentage dipped by 10% in the second period as they made just 8-of-26 with only one three-ball falling through the hoop; a 10-of-16 showing from the stripe was enough to keep the Coyotes at bay. After committing nine first half turnovers, McPherson only threw the ball away six times in the second. Kansas Wesleyan was able to shoot an even lower percentage than they did in the first half, making a measly 21.2 percent from the floor and just 1-of-9 from deep; KWU did make all but one of their free throws although they only attempted six.
For the game, McPherson was 21-of-58 from the field for a 36.2 field goal percentage. 12-of-21 free throw attempts were taken by MC and they closed out the game 2-of-10 from downtown. A poor shooting night was logged by Kansas Wesleyan as they only put in 24.6% of their 65 attempts; going 3-of-23 from deep did not help out the Lady ‘Yotes’ cause. 26 attempts were shot by KWU and 17 fell through the net. The Coyotes barely edged the Bulldogs in rebounds, grabbing 48 to MC’s 45; McPherson did win the assist battle, recording nine dimes.
Eisenhour was the Lady Bulldogs’ leading scorer, totaling 12 points and the team’s only three pointers.
Ali Brewster (Milton, Kan.),
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) and
Beth Cooper (Seibert, Colo.) each put in nine points; Cooper got hers on 50% shooting while Chambers tallied 10 rebounds, leading the team.
Kaylee Cramer (Dighton, Kan.) was also big on the glass, pulling down nine rebounds; she also had three assists, tying her with Cooper for the team high.
For KWU, Jessica Olson was the only player to reach double-digits, scoring 10 on 4-of-9 from the field. The season leading scorer for Kansas Wesleyan, Stephanie Frost, was only able to make one field goal and ended the game with seven points; she did break the Lady Coyote record for most rebounds in a season, recording 16 in the loss.
McPherson will now take on the Sterling College Lady Warriors on Saturday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. (CT) in the McPherson Sport Center.
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