Women's Basketball | 12/7/2013 8:54:00 PM
Box Score
Leavenworth, Kan. – McPherson College women's basketball improved to .500 for the season after a 59-44 victory over the Spires of Saint Mary. MC is 6-6 on the year and a perfect 2-0 in the KCAC which puts them in a tie atop the conference standings.
Mac scored the first field goal of the game and held the lead for nearly the entire half; USM got ahead by six before an 8-0 run by the Lady 'Dogs swung the game in their direction. The two clubs stayed close for the rest of the way as the largest lead for MC was seven. The Spires went on an 11-2 push to take over with just a couple left to play in the half; McPherson scored the final bucket of the opening period, tying things at 23-23.
Neither team shot the ball entirely well in the game's first 20 minutes as MC made 9-of-25 with just one from deep falling; they counted four of their six foul shots. After hitting their first two three-point attempts, USM went nearly 18 minutes without hitting another; they connected on just 8-of-28 from the floor, 3-of-18 from beyond the arc, and 50% of their eight foul shots. McPherson scored 20 points in the paint, mainly from
Cami Engelbert (Beloit, Kan.) and
Aubrey Barton (Pratt, Kan.) as the duo accounted for 12 as well as four assists in the first half.
Following the break, the 'Dogs came out and scored the first basket and never looked back, staying in control for the remaining 19 and a half minutes. Their advantage was around a handful for the first 10 of the second period but was extended to double-digits by the midway point. Saint Mary made an attempt to break back into the game with an 8-0 run after they were down 15 but MC held them off with 10-straight points and closed out the game on top 59-44.
The Lady Bulldogs converted on over half their field goals in the second period, going 11-of-21 with 6-of-10 threes finding the bottom of the net; 8-of-9 from the charity stripe also helped the cause for Mac. The Spires' shooting percentage went from bad to worse in half number two as they shot in a mere 25.7 percent of their 35 tries; a 3-of-15 from behind the arc and making it to the stripe once completely undid Saint Mary.
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.
Engelbert and 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 (Glen Elder, Kan.) and
Chandler Short (Edgewood, Texas) 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
Breahna Gillespie (Little River, Kan.) made just one shot but hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds, all defensive boards.
Conference play continues for the Lady Bulldogs on December 12
th when they host Sterling College; tipoff for JV is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (CT) with varsity to begin at 6:00
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