Women's Basketball | 1/5/2013 10:04:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – McPherson’s Saturday night matchup against the Friends University Lady Falcons was an aggressive contest that turned sour for MC in the second half as forced passes gave Friends all the ammo they needed to defeat the Bulldogs 77-55.
The loss moves Mac to fifth in the KCAC standings with a 3-3 record against conference foes; they are 9-7 overall this season.
The opening period of the contest was controlled by Friends as the taller Falcon team led by as many as seven points in the first five minutes. McPherson battled back and got the game to within one point by the 10-minute mark, putting the score at 13-12 after a 6-0 run by the Lady Dogs. The two squads would trade baskets for the next few minutes and MC took their first lead of the game with 2:51 showing on the clock; they would stay out in front for the final minutes of the half and led 31-30 as the horn sounded.
Free throws gave McPherson the advantage in the opening half as they hit on 12-of-16; they were 9-of-24 from the floor and just 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Friends did much better from the field, making 12-of-27 including three baskets from distance; they attempted just four shots from the charity stripe and made three. Ali Brewster (Milton, Kan.) and Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) led the Bulldogs in scoring in the game’s first 20 minutes with eight and seven points, respectively; the two combined for 11-of-14 from the stripe.
Friends got the ball for the first possession of the second half and scored a two-point field goal giving them the lead, something they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. MC kept the score within a handful of points for the first five minutes of the period but a 15-2 run by the Lady Falcons gave Friends a 17-point advantage with just over 10 minutes left on the clock. The Falcons held at least a 10-point gap for the rest of the contest, winning 77-55.
Only eight field goals were bucketed by McPherson in the last 20 minutes of the game and only one of their 17 three point attempts made it through the hoop. Friends outdid themselves in the second half, making 17-of-28 from the field including going 5-of-11 from deep.
A 34.7 shooting percentage was recorded by the Bulldogs in their loss; they were just 2-of-17 from three point land but managed to make 19-of-24 from the stripe. Friends hit 52.7 percent of their 55 attempts in the game and made 84.6% of their free throws. Only 27 rebounds were tallied by the Falcons, despite having a noticeable height-advantage; McPherson tallied 34 boards. 24 total turnovers were committed by MC; they only had 10 assists in the competition.
Chambers and Brewster each scored 11 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs; Brewster was just 2-of-8 from the field but hit 7-of-10 free throws while Chambers, who also had a team high four assists, made three of her four field goals and 5-of-6 from the stripe. Beth Cooper (Seibert, Colo.) gave MC some energy from the bench, making 3-of-6 from the floor including 2-of-3 from behind the arc; she also made both of her attempts from the charity stripe for 10 points. Bre Gillespie (Little River, Kan.) entered the game from the bench and scored six points in just 2:27; she was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and 1-of-1 from the floor. Cheyenne Eisenhour (Stafford, Kan.) had a rough game, making 1-of-5 from the field and turning the ball over eight times.
Friends’ leading scorer, Abril Marshall made 7-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the stripe for her game-high 17 points; she did all of this while coming off the bench as she has each game this season. Minta Whetstone scored 16 point going 5-of-8 from the floor, 3-of-6 from downtown and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Inekka Stevenson was the last double-digit scorer for the Falcons, putting in 11 points.
The Lady ‘Dogs will make their first road trip of 2013 when the visit Salina, Kansas and the Kansas Wesleyan Lady Coyotes; tipoff for that game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (CT) on January 10th.
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