Women's Basketball | 1/14/2013 12:08:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – The women’s basketball team at McPherson College is looking to extend their winning streak to three games on Wednesday, January 16th as they take on the Bethel College Lady Threshers at 6:00 p.m. (CT) in North Newton, Kan.; this will be the final competition of the first round of conference action.
The contest 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. You can also watch the game via ihigh.com/macbulldogs. All links to live game statistics, audio or video can be found at Macbulldogs.com
In their most recent game, McPherson took down the Sterling College Warriors after going winless for a decade. SC came out confident in the first half, leading for the entire 20 minutes; a 9-3 run was how they got going and they stayed ahead by single digits for the majority of the period. The Lady Bulldogs were able to pull within nine but never any closer; the halftime buzzer sounded with the score at 31-21 in favor of Sterling.
The Warriors started the second period with a couple of baskets but the game got a lot more exciting after a 12-0 run by McPherson pulled their deficit to one point. For the next few minutes, the score stayed close with SC maintaining the advantage. With just under three minutes left in regulation, the Bulldogs had a nine-point run that put them on top by four points with 1:16 to go. MC hit their free throws down the stretch and came out of the game with a 63-60 victory.
The Lady Bulldogs ended the game with a 38.6 field goal percentage, draining 22-of-57 from the floor but were just 1-of-11 from downtown; 18-of-28 free throws made it through the hoop. SC closed out the contest making 21-of-53; they hit 15-of-20 from the stripe in the loss. It was a close rebounding battle, the Warriors got the nod as they grabbed 38 to McPherson’s 36. MC caused 17 turnovers of Sterling and scored 21 of their total points off of their eight steals. Mac’s bench scored 15 in their team’s victory.
18 points were recorded by Cramer as she scored on 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the free throw line; she also grabbed seven rebounds, tying her for first on the team. Cheyenne Eisenhour and Bailey Brown each totaled 11 points; Eisenhour went 50% from the field, making 3-of-6, and hit 4-of-5 from the stripe.
McPherson is now fourth in the KCAC at 5-3 and just two games out of the top spot; after winning five of their last six, the Lady Bulldogs are 11-7 for the season with 10 games remaining.
The second set of conference games will begin on January 19th as the Bethany College Swedes come to McPherson for the inner-county rivalry matchup; tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (CT) with junior varsity games getting going at 1:00 p.m.
Scouting Bethel
BC has had a tough season thus far with their last win coming on December 15th and their lone KCAC victory on November 29th. The team is in a four-game skid since starting conference play back up after the holiday break. In their latest game, the Threshers traveled to Southwestern College and were outplayed by the Lady Builders, losing 72-57.
The game in Winfield came down to free throws as Bethel made more field goals than SWC and was only outshot by one from deep; BC went just 4-of-17 from the charity stripe while Southwestern drained 24-of-37. The Lady Threshers were barely outrebounded, losing by just one as they hulled in 40 boards; they turned the ball over 18 times to Southwestern’s 12.
The leading scorer for Bethel this season, Lauren Ulrich, scored 16 and was the team’s only double-digit player; she was 7-of-21 from the field with two baskets from long range. Taylor Durant was close to 10 points as she scored nine on 4-of-6 shooting; she also had a game-high eight rebounds. Every player that hit the court for BC scored at least once in the loss.
The Threshers have made it over 60 points just seven times out of their 17 games this season; they average 57.6 points per contest, ninth place in the conference. 35.9 percent of their field goal attempts are finding the bottom of the net while they cash in on an average of just 3.2 three balls a game which is second worst in the league. Bethel shoots a KCAC-low 60% from the charity stripe and make it to the free throw line around 15 times each time out. 21.8 turnovers are averaged by BC; they steal back 9.5 per game. One positive stat for the Lady Threshers is that they are holding their opponents to a 25.2 three point field goal percentage which is the tops of the KCAC and places them 12th in the NAIA D-II
Ulrich, a California native and freshman, does nearly everything for her team as she leads the squad in points (13.2), steals (1.71), assists (2.53), and turnovers (4.1) per game; Ulrich’s points place her third in the conference. Katie Regier is second on the team in scoring, putting in 7.9 points in her nine games. Durant is pulling in 6.65 rebounds a contest to go along with her 7.2 points.
A long trip to Leavenworth, Kansas awaits the Threshers after Wednesday’s game; they will take on the University of Saint Mary on January 19th.
