Women's Basketball | 12/13/2013 2:04:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – With a perfect 3-0 record in the KCAC, Lady Bulldog basketball sits in first place of the conference, tied with Southwestern College. On December 14
th at 5:00 p.m. (CT), MC will look to keep pace as they square off with the 8-4 Friends University Falcons; junior varsity is set to play at 1:00. Saturday is McPherson College's Community Appreciation Night where admission is free; there will also be photos available with Santa Clause and performances at halftime of the varsity contests.
In their latest triumph, Mac trailed for the first few but put together a 12-1 surge to jump ahead by 11 and never trailed for the remainder of the game. The advantage for the Lady 'Dogs stayed close to the double-digit mark for the final 10 of the period and peaked at 16 points; MC went into the break with a 37-24 lead. An over 50% shooting percentage, 14-of-26, helped the Bulldogs stay up in the first half; they hit 5-of-10 from long range and 4-of-7 from the free throw line. SC scored on 9-of-25 from the floor with 2-of-12 from behind the three-point line; the squad was 4-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Period number two was completely controlled by McPherson as they increased their lead to 18 in the first few minutes. The Lady Warriors attempted to mount a comeback midway through the half but could only get as close as nine; MC would rebound and pushed their advantage back up to double figures where it stayed for all but one possession the rest of the way. The buzzer sounded with Mac winning 76-63. An 11-of-19 showing from the floor, 57.9%, allowed the 'Dogs to cruise to their victory; they were 4-of-5 from range and 13-of-16 from the foul line. SC converted 13-of-31 field goals with 7-of-15 from deep; they hit a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe.
At the end of the game, MC was 25-of-45 from the field, making 55.6%; the squad hit nine three balls and 17-of-23 from the line. Mac hauled in just 29 rebounds with seven offensive boards. They had an equal 17 assists and turnovers and also logged four blocks and 11 steals. 29 of the team's points came from bench players and 38 were scored in the paint.
Chandler Short led all McPherson scorers with 16 points, coming on 6-of-10 shooting including three from deep; she also hit one foul shot. Aubrey Barton scored 14 in the game with 4-of-6 field goals going in and 6-of-7 free throws. Leading the way in rebounds was Bailey Brown who had six, all defensive; she also scored 11 and had three steals. Sunny Smart rounded out the double-digit point-getters with her 10; she made 3-of-6 from the floor and sunk both her attempts from the stripe. Bre Gillespie tied Brown for most rebounds, scored nine points, and had five steals, two assists and a couple blocks for her most complete game of the season.
Mac amongst the NAIA: The Lady Bulldogs rank fourth in the NAIA Division-II in defensive field goal percentage at 33.6%. They are seventh in total rebounds, 569, and eighth in defensive rebounds an outing with 31.154. Smart is the lone MC player to be in the top-25; she ranks 24th in three-point makes with 29 on the season.
Following their contest with the Falcons, McPherson is off until January 3rd when they host their classic which is scheduled for the 3rd and 4th; Dakota State University, Haskell Indian Nations University and Bethel College are the other teams competing in the McPherson College January Classic.
Scouting Friends
The 8-4 Lady Falcons are currently 2-1 in conference play, losing to Southwestern College a week ago and defeating Ottawa University in game one and completely dismantling the University of Saint Mary this past Thursday by the tune of 87-53.
Friends held Saint Mary to just 16 field goals in their 30-point victory; the Spires scored on 16-of-45 with 7-of-25 from deep and 14-of-27 falling through. The Falcons on the other hand made 43.8% from the floor with 32 of their 73 shots being counted; they made an eye-popping 15-of-35 from range and were 8-of-13 from the stripe. Friends dominated the boards with 44 to Saint Mary's 20; 24 rebounds were netted off the offensive glass for the Lady Falcons. FU recorded 23 assists but had 21 turnovers; they stole 14 from USM, forcing 28 total TOs.
Five Friends athletes made it past the single figure mark in scoring. Kayla Justice led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-19 from the field; she cashed in on 5-of-12 from the arc in her team-high 33 minutes played. Second on the list was Sarah Munds who totaled 15 points on 5-of-12 from deep; she also had a team leading five assists. Kassy Ptacek bucketed 14, going 4-of-8 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the stripe. Entering the game from the bench, Shann Sellers connected on 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-8 from the foul line for 11 points. The final double-digit scorer was Kayla Mollere who counted 10 along with a team-high eight rebounds.
In their 12 games this season, Friends is averaging 66.9 points per contest with 38.6 of their field goals going through. The team has made 82 three-point shots and averages 6.8 a game with a 29.8 percentage. In terms of rebounding, the Falcons pull in over 38 each time out and have a positive 5.5 rebound margin. They net 14.2 assists, 17.7 turnovers, 11.8 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.
Munds is scoring a team-high 17.8 every time she hits the court, making 43.5 percent from the floor; she has tallied a team leading 31 three balls this year. Justice is next on the team with her 12.0 points per game average; she has made 29 from behind the arc. The last Falcon to get over 10 points on a consistent basis is Mollere as she nets 10.8 a game, making 50% from the field; she is the team leader in rebounds with 8.0 a contest.
Friends has a home battle with William Penn University on December 17th for the next competition.
