Women's Basketball | 1/17/2013 10:51:00 AM
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McPherson, Kan. – Following their heartbreaking loss to Bethel College this past Wednesday, the 11-8, 5-4 McPherson women’s basketball team are gearing up for the second time through the conference. The Lady Swedes of Bethany travel down old highway 81 to take on MC January 19th with game time set for 5:00 p.m. (CT) in the McPherson Sport Center.
The game will be broadcasted live in the McPherson area on 95.5 FM The Rock and at www.salina-radio.com. Click on 95.5 The Rock and scroll down to listen live to the broadcast. This is Bethany Swede Radio, we will have 96.7 KBBE back broadcasting next Wednesday.
You can always watch the game via ihigh.com/macbulldogs.
All links to live game statistics, audio or video can be found at Macbulldogs.com
The opening period against the Lady Threshers on the 16th was a chaotic one with plenty of unforced errors and turnovers. MC got up early with a 13-0 run but three back-to-back buckets by Bethel kept the score close. The Lady ‘Dogs got back up by double figures and maintained that advantage for the remainder of the half. Both teams had a tough time making any shots to close out the half, going through a three-minute scoring drought. A score line of 24-12 gave Mac the first period lead.
Turnovers again plagued both squads in the second half as a physical style of play by both teams led to poor passes and scrambled shot attempts. McPherson stayed ahead by 10+ for the opening minutes of the period, going point-for-point with the Lady Threshers but a 9-0 run by BC closed the score margin to two points with just over 10 minutes left on the clock. Mac quickly retaliated and continued to have the lead until another run by Bethel put them on top for the first time in the game. With 16 seconds to go, MC pulled within one point; following two made free throws by the Threshers, McPherson had one last chance but their three-point shot fell just short, ending the game at 53-50.
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. MC lowered their turnovers from the game’s first 20 minutes, only throwing the ball away 12 times in the second period, giving them 26 for the contest.
Cheyenne Eisenhour 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 and Bailey Brown each put in eight points; both made 3-of-8 from the floor. Eisenhour and Madison Chambers each grabbed six rebounds to lead the team.
A venture to Hillsboro, Kansas is next on the conference list for McPherson as they travel to play the KCAC’s No. 2 Tabor College Lady Jays on January 23rd; play is set to start at 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Scouting Bethany
It has been nearly two months since these two clubs have played each other and since then, the Swedes have gone 1-9, winning their lone game two days after facing McPherson; the eight-game losing streak is the longest active streak in the KCAC. BC is showing signs of improvement as they forced double overtime in their most recent contest, coming against Sterling College.
The SC Warriors had a rough first period and found themselves in a 24-20 hole at halftime. Bethany seemed to have the hot-hand for the whole game, making 42.6% of their field goals, well above their 33.8 season average. The Swedes were fortunate that Sterling only converted on 21-of-69 from the floor and made just 1-of-17 from downtown; an unheard of 50 free throws were taken by the Lady Warriors, they drained 35 of them which were enough to give the team the 78-73 victory. BC lost the rebounding and turnover battle, as they were outrebounded 39-35 and threw the ball away 16 times.
Three of the starting five for Bethany made it into double-digits; they also had five of the starters foul out in the contest. Tanya Garner led BC with a career-high 24 points; she netted 5-of-14 from the floor and 14-of-19 from the free throw line. Tasha Wagoner made it over the 100-point mark for the season with her 15 on Wednesday as she made 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from the stripe; she led the team in rebounds, pulling down nine. Kendra Austin was the final Swede to make it over 10 points as she scored 11 on 3-of-4 from deep and 1-of-5 from two-point land.
Putting balls through the hoop has been difficult for Bethany this season as they’re averaging a KCAC-low 50.1 points an outing; they only average 2.6 three balls per contest while shooting 20.8 percent from behind the arc. The team is even having a difficult time making their shots from the charity stripe as they convert only 61.2% of their attempts. The Swedes have been outscored 1188-951 this season
Garner leads the team in scoring this season as she is bucketing 11.7 points a game on 45.2 percent shooting; she also averages a team-high 6.1 rebounds. Wagoner is the next leading scorer but puts in just 7.8 points each time she hits the court. Kendra Austin is the team’s leading three-point shooter as she has hit 16 balls from long range for the season.
A trip to Bethel College, the sole KCAC team the Swedes have defeated this year, is next in the cards for Bethany; they travel to North Newton on January 19th.
