Women's Basketball | 12/10/2013 4:09:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a two-game victory from last week and look to keep the momentum going against a 5-4 Sterling College squad on December 12
th; the home contest is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. (CT) tipoff with JV getting underway at 2:00
In their latest triumph, Mac took down the University of Saint Mary by a score of 59-44. The 'Dogs came out and scored first and maintained the advantage for most of the period; USM once pulled ahead by six but an 8-0 run by McPherson quickly stifled that. After trailing seven, the Lady Spires put together an 11-2 surge to take over by one basket. With the clock winding down, MC put one through to tie things up at 23-23 heading into the break. The Bulldogs made 9-of-25 in the opening half while Saint Mary converted 8-of-28.
The second period began with Mac scoring; they would not trail for the remainder of the contest. By the midway point of the half, the Lady 'Dogs saw themselves ahead double-digits. USM scored eight straight points to pull within seven but a 10-0 run by MC put them ahead by 10+ for the rest of the way. McPherson went 11-of-21 in the final period with 60% of their 10 three balls going in; they drained 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Lady Spires cashed in on nearly 25 percent of their 35 attempts with three coming from long range.
After 40 minutes, a solid 43.5 field goal percentage was tallied by McPherson; they mad 35 percent from downtown (7-of-20) and 80% of their 15 free throws. The 'Dogs pulled in 45 rebounds and limited USM to 31; 10 of Mac's boards were on the offensive side of the court. They committed 22 unforced errors while totaling 15 assists and seven steals; MC also netted a season-high five blocks.
Cami Engelbert and Aubrey Barton each closed out the contest with 12 points; Barton was 3-of-9 from the court and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe while logging four steals, three assists and three blocks. Bailey Brown and Chandler Short both made it to double figures, scoring 10 apiece. Brown was 3-of-7 from the floor with a perfect 4-of-4 from the line; Short cashed in on 3-of-4 with a pair of threes and free throws. Senior Bre Gillespie made just one shot but hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds, all defensive boards.
Ranked Bulldogs: Mac is now fourth in the NAIA Division-II in defensive field goal percentage at 33.2% and ranks sixth in defensive rebounds an outing with 31.917; they are also 10th in total rebounds with 540. Sunny Smart is 15th in the NAIA in free throw percentage at 88.2%
The Lady Bulldogs close out 2013 with a home game versus Friends University on December 14th; the Saturday contest is McPherson College's Community Appreciation Night where admission is free to the 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. games.
Scouting Sterling
The 5-4 Lady Warriors have had an up and down season thus far as they've won, then lost, then won, then lost for all but one set of games back in early November. Since KCAC play kicked off, SC has gone 1-1 with a two-point win against Bethany College on last Thursday and a buzzer-beating 61-60 loss to Bethel College on Saturday.
The matchup between the Threshers and Sterling was a tight one from the beginning and headed into the locker room all square at 32 apiece. In the second half, it stayed close; in the game's final minute, SC held a one-point advantage but a last-second layup by Bethel gave the Lady Threshers the 61-60 victory. BC outshot (60 to 49) and outscored (22 to 15) Sterling in the 40-minute contest; the Warriors made their bread from the foul line where they knocked in 26-of-30 while Bethel was 14-of-20. SC out-boarded the Threshers 43-38 and pulled in 14 offensive rebounds. Sterling also tallied 10 assists but 20 turnovers along with five steals and three blocks.
Forward Lori Dauer and guard Hailey Davis led the game in scoring with 20 apiece; Dauer bucketed 4-of-8 field goals and 12-of-15 free throws while Davis knocked in 7-of-10 from the floor with four threes and went 2-of-2 from the stripe. Kelsey Strobel struggled shooting as she made just 3-of-16 with 0-of-5 balls from deep going in but did make 7-of-8 of her foul shots for 13 points; she hauled in seven rebounds, second on the team to Dauer who had 13.
In their nine games, Sterling has averaged 67.4 points and posted a 37.2 field goal percentage; they have made 50 threes and convert on 28.9 percent from downtown. The squad is totaling an average of 39.2 rebounds each time they touch the court and have a positive rebounding margin of 6.6. This season the Warriors have turned the ball over 165 times for an 18.33 average; they tab 12.4 assists, 6.6 steals and less than two blocks per contest.
SC has started four players each of their nine competitions and is led in scoring by Dauer who buckets 15.2 points a game while making 55% from the field; she also leads in rebounds with 8.2. Strobel is also getting over the 10-point mark each time out, scoring 14.1 points. The third and final Warrior to make it into double figures each contest is Davis who tallies 11.6; she has hit a team-high 14 three-point field goals, knocking in 31.8% from deep.
Sterling stays on the road for the next conference game as they travel to play Tabor College on December 14th.
