Women's Basketball | 1/16/2013 10:52:00 PM
Box Score
North Newton, Kan. – The McPherson College women’s basketball team lost a heart-breaker in North Newton on Wednesday; the Bethel College Lady Threshers crept up from behind to defeat MC 53-50. The Bulldogs are now 11-8 for the season and 5-4 in the conference.
It was a very sloppy first half of basketball for both squads with multiple turnovers and unforced errors. Mac started the game with a 13-0 run and seemed to be in complete control. BC bucketed six-straight points on their next three possessions to tighten the gap; a back-and-forth battle ensued with both teams struggling to gain any momentum. McPherson was up by a double-digit margin for the majority of the period. A three-minute shooting drought was how the half ended; the score was 24-12 when the buzzer sounded.
After their hot start, MC went cold and ended the half making just 8-of-26 from the field including 2-of-6 from the three-point line; a 6-of-6 showing from the charity stripe helped the Lady Bulldogs maintain their advantage. Bethel made only 21.1 percent of their 19 attempts from the floor, turning the ball over before they had a chance to shoot most times down the court; BC converted on just 4-of-8 of their trips to the charity stripe.
The second period was a much more physical half with just as many turnovers. The Bulldogs held on to their double-digit lead for most of the first 10 minutes but a 9-0 by Bethel pulled the Lady Threshers within two points with 11:25 showing on the clock. McPherson would keep the lead for the next six minutes but another run by BC gave them the lead for the first time in the game; Bethel jumped in front for good with just under seven minutes left. The Lady ‘Dogs stuck around and even got the score to one point but by that point there were just 16 seconds left in the game. The Threshers made their next two free throws and a three-point attempt for Mac fell just short, giving BC the 53-50 victory.
McPherson made eight field goals for the second straight half, giving them a 38.1 shooting percentage; converting on just 8-of-17 from the stripe severely hurt the Bulldogs. Bethel more than doubled their first have field goal percentage, making over 55% of their attempts; they also made 9-of-10 from the free throw line, hitting their shots when it counted. MC lowered their turnovers from the game’s first 20 minutes, only throwing the ball away 12 times which gave them 26 for the contest.
The Lady Bulldogs saw just 16 balls fall through the hoop on their basket, the second lowest total of the season; they made 34 percent of their field goals and were 14-of-23 from the charity stripe. BC closed out the contest hitting 18-of-43 for a 41.9 shooting percentage, largely thanks to their second half performance; 73.7 percent of the team’s 19 free throws found the bottom of the net. Bethel took the rebounding title, grabbing 34 boards to Mac’s 30.
Cheyenne Eisenhour (Stafford, Kan.) scored a team-high 15 on 3-of-5 from the field with two three pointers and was 7-of-12 from the stripe.
Kaylee Cramer (Dighton, Kan.) and
Bailey Brown (Glen Elder, Kan.) each put in eight points; both made 3-of-8 from the floor. Eisenhour and
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) each grabbed six rebounds to lead the team.
Katie Regier drained 6-of-11 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe for a game-high 18 points; she also pulled down eight rebounds, leading the team. The season leading scorer for BC, Lauren Ulrich, was only able to score nine on 1-of-7 shooting but hit 6-of-7 from the stripe. Jaime Tschetter came off the bench and scored on 4-of-5 for eight points.
The second round of KCAC action begins on Saturday when the Bethany College Lady Swedes come to the McPherson Sport Center for a 5:00 p.m. (CT) tipoff on January 19th; the women’s junior varsity game will begin at 1:00 p.m.
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