Women's Basketball | 1/14/2014 11:50:00 AM
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McPherson, Kan. – MC women's basketball is currently in a five-game slide and has lost their last three conference competitions. On January 16
th, the Lady 'Dogs will have their next chance to break out of their losing funk as they travel to Ottawa, Kansas to take on the Braves for a 6:00 p.m. (CT) contest.
Mac played against Kansas Wesleyan this past Saturday, losing a hard fought 71-63 game. After taking a quick lead in the opening minutes, the Coyotes jumped over McPherson courtesy of a 13-2 run. MC stayed close and scored the final six points of the half to regain the lead and head into the locker room ahead 33-32. Both teams made 10 baskets, including three from long range in the first period; the difference between the two in the game's first 20 minutes was the Bulldogs' 10-of-14 showing from the stripe compared to KWU's 9-of-13 in the opening half.
Within the first five minutes of period number two McPherson got ahead by as many as seven but the 'Yotes would score 15 of the next 17 points, giving them a six-point lead; a few minutes later MC tied it up at 53. Kansas Wesleyan took advantage of some costly turnovers by the Bulldogs and got ahead by 10 with just a couple minutes left. Try as they might, Mac was not able to overcome their deficit, losing 71-63.
In the game, McPherson shot in 40.4% of their 47 field goals (19-of-47) and counted 8-of-16 from range; they were 17-of-25 from the line. The 'Dogs totaled 32 rebounds but allowed KWU to have 37 including 16 offensive boards. 22 turnovers and 13 assists were netted by Mac, as were 15 steals. 20 of MC's total came from bench players while 34 were scored in the paint.
Barton closed out the night with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting with two from deep and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe; she also recorded three blocks as well as a double-double courtesy of her 10 rebounds, five on both ends of the floor. Sunny Smart knocked down a pair of threes, 4-of-6 foul shots and 1-of-4 from two-point range for her 12 while Bailey Brown tabulated 11 points with six coming from the free throw line; Brown also stole the ball away five times and had five rebounds.
Mac in the National Rankings: The Lady 'Dogs sit 20th in the Nation in Defensive Field Goal Percentage at 36.1 and are 27th in Scoring Defense per Game with their 64.556 points allowed an outing. For the first time in over a month, one of MC's players is ranked in the top-50 of the NAIA D-II; Aubrey Barton, thanks to her three blocks on Saturday, is now 44th in Total Blocks with 19.
Scouting McPherson: The 7-11 Bulldogs are averaging 60.3 points per game and have a negative scoring margin of 4.3; they knock down 36.3 percent of their field goals and have scored 1085 points in their 18 games. The 'Dogs make 5.4 three balls a night, seeing 29.8 percent of their attempts from deep fall through. They barely outrebound their opponents, averaging 40.9 boards a game. The team also nets 19.3 turnovers, 12.6 assists, 8.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per contest. In their six conference games, Mac is scoring 61.5 points a game while allowing 65; they are tied for second in field goal percentage at 41.4 including 33.3 from beyond the arc. The Lady Bulldogs lead the conference in blocks per outing with 3.3 and are fourth in steals with 7.7.
McPherson stays on the road for their next competition as they square off against the Swedes of Bethany College on January 18th at 5:00 p.m.
Scouting Ottawa
Currently sitting fourth in the KCAC standings, the 8-8, 4-2 Lady Braves have had a very solid conference season; they were picked to finish 6th in the preseason poll. They started league play with an ugly 61-38 loss to Friends University but then won four-straight until this past Saturday when they dropped a 65-61 contest against Tabor College.
In the tussle with the Lady Jays, it was a neck-and-neck battle for the first half as the two were never more than a few points from one another; after 20 minutes of play, TC held a 30-28 advantage. In the second period, Ottawa seemed to be in control but the tides shifted midway through the half when the Blue Jays jumped in front. Playing on their home court, the Lady Braves did not go down without a fight, quickly recovering and staying right with Tabor. The final tie came with under 30 seconds to play at 61-61; Tabor scored the game's final four points for their 65-61 win. TC connected on 47.2 percent from the floor while Ottawa made 22 of their 57 field goals including a 4-of-17 showing from behind the three-point line; OU knocked through 13-of-15 free throws while the Jays went 8-of-14. The Braves out-boarded TC 35-31 and gobbled up 10 offensive rebounds. Ottawa also tallied 13 assists, 11 turnovers, three blocks, and two steals in their loss.
Amber Ramsey accounted for 20 of OU's points, converting on 8-of-15 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the stripe; she also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Also scoring in double-digits was Ashley Romig as she tallied 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting with three free throws. Angelic Frazier was the final Brave to hit the 10-point, making just 2-of-6 from the floor but a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line for her 10 points. Mikayla Skidmore scored seven points and also netted a season-high seven assists.
On the year, Ottawa is scoring 63.7 points per contest with over 40% of their shots going in; they have a negative scoring margin of 1.1. Not a big three-point shooting team, the Braves make less than five a game, draining 29.6 percent from deep; the squad does thrive from the foul stripe as they hit over 70% of their free throws. They average nearly 36 rebounds a contest to go along with their 17.3 turnovers, 11.8 assists, 6.7 assists, and 3.3 blocks. Against KCAC schools, Ottawa is giving up a third best 57.67 points per game, allowing their opponents to shoot 36.3 percent from the field and 25.5 percent from range, second and first in the conference, respectively. Their 39.7 rebounds a contest against conference foes is third highest. The Braves rank second in blocks with 19 and 3.3 an outing.
Leading the Braves this season is their senior forward Ramsey who averages 14.3 points a game while cashing in on 51.3 percent of her field goals; she has also bucketed a team-high 61 foul shots and averages a team leading 8.3 rebounds. The freshman center Romig is the only other Ottawa player to average double-digit scoring with her 11.9 average; she tabs 5.8 rebounds a game and makes just over 50% of her attempts from the floor. Skidmore has tallied 49 assists on the year while scoring 8.3 points and playing in a team second-best 422 minutes.
OU will hit the road for their next two competitions starting with a Saturday contest against Southwestern College.
