Women's Basketball | 2/23/2013 12:11:00 AM
Box Score Winfield, Kan. – It was a tough night in Winfield on Friday for the Bulldogs as 24 turnovers spelled disaster and the end of the season for McPherson. A 57-50 loss to Southwestern closed out Mac’s year with a record at 14-15.
It took over two minutes for the game’s first points to be scored and over three for the Moundbuilders to make it on the board. The low-scoring affair sat at 9-8 after seven minutes of play; SWC would then go on a 15-1 run, putting them up 24-9 with 8:17 showing on the clock. The score margin would stay in the double figures for most of the rest of the half until Mac put together a few buckets to bring it under 10 with fewer than three minutes to play. The teams headed into their locker rooms with 36-27 showing on the scoreboard with the home team on top
The opening half ended with the Lady Bulldogs making 10-of-30 from the floor with 2-of-7 three balls making their way through their hoop; only 5-of-10 from the charity stripe went in for MC. The Builders shot a bit better than Mac as they hit 14-of-37 field goals with four three-point baskets; Southwestern also struggled from the foul line, converting just 4-of-9. Jana Reichenberger, after missing the last three games, scored a game-high nine points in the opening 20 minutes for the Moundbuilders.
MC quickly pulled their deficit back to single figures, getting within seven less than three minutes in to the second period. The score hovered around the 10-point mark for the next ten minutes with 12 being the widest margin. In the game’s final five, the Bulldogs clawed within four points using tough defense and sharp-shooting to stay close. A few turnovers by Mac, something that plagued them throughout the contest, and a few buckets by Southwestern ended the game at 57-50 in the Builders’ favor.
The second period didn’t go any better for McPherson as only 8-of-25 field goals found their way through; they hit 2-of-11 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. SWC had a poor 20 minutes of shooting, making only 7-of-27 from the floor, shooting 26%; they cashed in on 6-of-12 from the stripe and 1-of-8 from distance.
The contest came to a close with Mac making 32.7 percent of their shots from the floor; they converted on 4-of-18 from long range and 10-of-16 from the foul line. Southwestern shot near the same percentage as the Lady ‘Dogs as they drained 32.8% from the field with 5-of-20 three pointers going through; only 10-of-21 of the Moundbuilders free throws went through the hoop in the game. MC took the rebounding title, grabbing 50 boards to the Builders’ 40. SWC took advantage of Mac’s in ability to hold on to the ball, stealing 13 away.
In the low-scoring competition, McPherson had one lone player make it to double figures; freshman
Chandler Short (Edgewood, Texas) entered the game from the bench and scored 11 on 4-of-8 shooting with 2-of-2 free throws being counted towards her total.
Madison Chambers (Wellsville, Kan.) was one point and one rebound shy of a double-double, tallying nine points and nine boards. Also pulling down nine rebounds was fellow senior
Tayler Puttergill (Tryon, Neb.); she scored seven points in her final game as a Bulldog.
Reichenberger and Jessica Hobbs led the way for Southwestern with 13 points apiece; Hobbs went 4-of-10 from the field with 3-of-4 free throws being counted. Reichenberger was also the team leader in rebounds, hauling in nine with six coming on the offensive end.
McPherson is now done for the 2012-13 season. They will lose four players to graduation, two of which were starters. The bulk of the squad will be back as the majority of the team was underclassman this year.
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