Women's Basketball | 2/15/2013 10:34:00 AM
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McPherson, Kan. – With just one game left before post-season, the Lady Bulldogs are looking to gain some much needed momentum heading into the KCAC tournament. Mac’s lost three-straight but has a chance to recover as they face 7-19 Bethel College on February 16th when the Threshers come to McPherson for a 5:00 p.m. (CT) showdown. The game is “Red Out Night” as well as Senior Night.
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
MC’s most recent defeat came at the hands of Sterling College on Thursday night. The Lady Warriors got on top early but couldn’t get ahead by more than a few as McPherson kept things close and started to take control midway through the opening half. The two squads traded points for the final few minutes with the ‘Dogs getting up by as many as seven; a 4-1 run by SC ended the half at 32-28 in favor of Mac.
The second period began with Sterling quickly dismantling McPherson’s lead just minutes into the half. MC retaliated with a 6-0 run that gave them a four-point advantage which they pushed to 11 with right under eight minutes left in regulation. After some more trading of buckets, the Lady Bulldogs went on a scoring drought which SC used to put together a 16-5 run, tying things at the end of the period; turnovers by Mac helped the game go to overtime as they committed six in the final two minutes of the second half.
The Lady Warriors were flying high heading in to overtime and used that energy to jump up 71-65 with under two minutes left. Two three-point baskets by McPherson found the ‘Dogs down three with 27 seconds left and the ball. Attempts from deep by Kaylee Cramer and Madison Chambers fell just short of the mark with Chambers’ final heave missing by just a smidgen giving Sterling the 74-71 victory.
For the game, Mac made 42.4 percent of their shots from the field count, draining 27-of-64 with 6-of-16 makes from downtown; they hit a poor 11-of-21 from the foul line. The Lady Warriors converted on 28-of-66 from the floor with a lot of layups and were 16-of-26 from the free throw line; only 2-of-9 from behind the arc found their way through the net. McPherson outrebounded SC 48-40; Sterling tallied 16 boards off the offensive glass. The Warriors had just 10 turnovers and took the ball away from MC 11 times. The Lady Bulldogs had 34 of their points scored by bench players.
Cami Engelbert came alive in the second period for Mac and closed out the contest with a team-high 13 points; she hit 6-of-7 from the field and also brought down five rebounds. Taylor Puttergill was right on Engelbert’s heels as she totaled 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting with 3-of-4 balls from the stripe falling through; she was close to another double-double as she had eight rebounds. Both Cheyenne Eisenhour and Cramer scored 10 points in the loss; Eisenhour made 3-of-4 from the field with 2-of-4 free throws falling in and Cramer made 4-of-10 field goals and her lone free throw. Chambers recorded a team-high nine rebounds and also scored eight.
If the regular season ends as it should in the conference, McPherson will end as the No. 6 seed in the upcoming KCAC Postseason Tournament and face No. 3 Tabor College in Hillsboro on February 21st at 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Scouting Bethel
The Lady Threshers have had a rough season, especially as of late; they’ve won one of their last eight, two of their last 13 and three of their last 17. They are ninth in the KCAC with a conference record of 3-14, getting a win against Saint Mary in their first league matchup, McPherson nearly a month ago, and Sterling last Saturday. Their most recent contest ended in a 81-48 home loss to Southwestern College on Thursday.
Against the Moundbuilders, BC had a hard time throwing it in from anywhere as only 25.4% of their field goals found the bottom of the net; they made 13-of-21 from the stripe and only 1-of-9 three balls were bucketed. SWC saw 44.3 percent of their attempts scored as 27-of-61 went through the hoop with 12 of those being three pointers; they made 15-of-22 from the stripe in the win. The Lady Builders were all over the glass as they pulled down 52 rebounds with 12 coming on the offensive end; Bethel tallied 41 total for the contest. 20 assists were logged by Southwestern and BC recorded 10 while turning the ball over 10 times as well.
Jaime Tschetter and Taylor Durant each scored 11 points for the Threshers; Tschetter came in off the bench and made 5-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-3 from the charity stripe while Durrant got 4-of-12 field goals to fall through as well as 3-of-4 free throws. Lauren Ulrich hit on 2-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line for her 10 points; she also tallied four assists and six rebounds which put her second on the team with Tschetter taking the crown with her eight boards.
Scoring has been a big problem for Bethel this year as they have made it over 60 points once in KCAC play and average 55 a contest, lowest in the conference. They are hitting 35.4 percent of their field goals with only 75 total three balls finding their way through for the season; the Threshers make 26.7 of their three-point attempts and score an average of 2.9 a game. A low free throw shooting percentage is also logged by BC for the season, 60.8, second worst in the league. The squad totals 38 rebounds a contest and usually is within a board or two of winning that category each time out. They throw the ball away a KCAC-worst 21.6 times per contest and steal back nearly nine.
Ulrich is the team’s lone player to average double figures, scoring 12.5 a game; she has made a team-high 104 field goals with 31 of those being three pointers, also leading the squad. Katie Regier is next on the scoring totem-pole with her 8.5 per contest. Durant is the team leader in rebounds with 166 total and 6.4 an outing. Tschetter has blocked 31 balls this season, tops of the Threshers.
Regardless of how Saturday’s contest turns out, Bethel is done for the season.
