Women's Basketball | 2/11/2013 11:10:00 AM
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McPherson, Kan. – The Lady Bulldogs of McPherson College and Lady Warriors of Sterling College will face off on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, at 6:00 p.m. (CT) in Sterling, Kan. The two teams are tied for fifth place in the conference standings; as of now, MC owns the tiebreaker as they defeated Sterling in their first matchup.
The contest will be broadcasted live in the McPherson area on 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio and on the world wide web at Macbulldogs.com with Nick Gosnell on the call with Steve Sell providing the color commentary for the broadcast. You can also watch the game via ihigh.com/macbulldogs. All links to live game statistics, audio or video can be found at Macbulldogs.com
Mac is coming off a difficult loss to Kansas Wesleyan University this past Saturday. The Lady ‘Dogs had a tough time scoring in the first few minutes of the game as it took them nearly seven minutes to make their second bucket. By that time, KWU was up by 13 points but a small run by McPherson pulled them within a handful. After some back-and-forth baskets, the Lady Coyotes pushed their advantage to the high teens, leading by 17 at the peak. As the halftime buzzer sounded, Kansas Wesleyan had double-upped MC, leading 32-16.
In the start of the second period, the Bulldogs got their deficit to 10 points in less than five minutes and continued to drive, pulling the score to 38-35 with 11:35 remaining in the game. McPherson stayed within a few points and even got as close as one but 11-straight points by the ‘Yotes put KWU up 51-39 with less than five minutes to go. Mac charged again, getting within five but would come no closer, as Kansas Wesleyan took the win 54-48.
Following their 4-of-25 first half showing, the Bulldogs over-doubled their shooting percentage in the second period, making 12-of-34. The shooting struggles gave the Bulldogs a poor 27.1 field goal percentage; they cashed in on 16-of-59 from the floor, 3-of-21 from distance and 13-of-23 from the free throw line. Kansas Wesleyan closed out the game hitting 32.7% from the field and rattled in 14-of-25 from the charity stripe. Each team hauled in their share of rebounds, KWU totaled 47 while McPherson grabbed 45. The Bulldogs recorded 16 turnovers and Kansas Wesleyan had 19; the Lady ‘Yotes ended with 12 steals, MC logged six.
Bailey Brown was the lone McPherson player to make it over the 10-point hump as she scored 13 with 8-of-12 free throws falling through and 2-of-7 field goals. Tayler Puttergill was one point away from another double-double as she scored nine points and had 10 boards, three on the offensive end.
MC’s final regular season game will be played at home as they take on the Bethel College Lady Threshers on February 16th at 5:00 p.m. (CT). Saturday’s game will be “Red Out” Night along with Senior Night; wear your McPherson red and come support the seniors for their last home game as a Bulldog.
Scouting Sterling
Sterling has been playing up and down all season, never winning or losing more than two games in a row. Since January 10th, they have gone back-and-forth, winning a game then losing the next, then winning the following; this has been going on for the past 10 contests, putting them at 5-5 for that stretch. Overall this season, they are 12-14 and 8-8 in the conference.
A 51-49 loss to the second to last place Bethel College is SC’s most recent competition. Sterling had a rough going from the field, making only 31.4% of their field goals including just two hits from downtown; they were 15-of-23 from the stripe, cashing in on well below their season average. Bethel had an above average game, converting on 21-of-53 from the floor but was 0-of-5 from behind the arc; they managed to make 9-of-14 from the foul line in the win. The Lady Warriors took the rebounding title, like they typically do, grabbing 38 boards to BC’s 36. SC also tallied 15 turnovers and nine steals.
Kayla Eilert scored 18 points in the loss, making 5-of-15 from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line; she also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Cassi Spleiss was next on the list with her 12 points on 4-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the stripe. Six points was the next closest any Warrior came to the 10-point mark.
Sterling is having a tough time getting over the 60-point hump this year; they are making 36% of their field goals and are fortunate to make two three-point shots a game, fewest in the KCAC. They are second to last in the conference in field goal percentage from deep, hitting just 21.3%. Nearly 70 percent of the team’s free throws are finding their way to the bottom of the net, second highest in the league. Over 40 rebounds are recorded by SC on average as they traditionally out rebound their foes. 17 turnovers, 6.9 steals and 10.6 assists are tallied by the Lady Warriors each time they hit the court.
Eilert is the team’s go-to scorer as she buckets 12.5 points per game, getting most of her points from the foul line; she’s made 155 free throws this season and also leads the team in rebounds a contest, grabbing 7.2. Spleiss is the leading field goal shooter as she’s converted on 110 shots from the floor, including 17 three balls; she averages over 12 points an outing. Sterling is missing a big part of their team as Lori Dauer is out for the season due to a shoulder injury; she was scoring 11.8 points per contest before her injury.
The Lady Warrior’s final regular season game of the year is against the Bethany College Swedes on February 16th.
