Women's Basketball | 1/3/2014 10:32:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – In their first game of 2014 and of their home Classic, McPherson College lost 54-53 on a last-second shot by Dakota State University. The heartbreaker defeat moves Mac to 7-8 on the season.
DSU scored first and maintained a slight advantage for the first five minutes but an 11-0 run by the Lady Bulldogs put MC up eight, the largest lead of the half, with 11:55 showing on the clock. The Trojans climbed back in but weren't able to take the lead until there was 16 seconds left in the period; they would head into their locker room up 29-28.
McPherson made 11-of-30 in the opening half with just 1-of-5 falling from deep; they converted on 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Lady Trojans hit 11 shots as well but had three less attempts for a 40.7 shooting percentage; they knocked down five of their 13 three-point tries and 2-of-4 from the foul line. 23 of Mac's 28 points were scored in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
The second period started with DSU jumping out to a 10+ lead within the first few minutes as McPherson had a difficult time finding the bottom of the net. The 'Dogs slowly began chipping away and tied things up by the midway point of the half at 44 apiece. The two squads traded the lead for the next few with Mac staying on top the majority of the time. With 2:12 left in the game, Dakota State was up by one point. Five possessions later and MC's Bailey Brown bucketed a layup to put the Bulldogs ahead with 22 seconds left. After a timeout, the Lady Trojans came down and nearly threw the ball away but a last-second fling found its way through with no time remaining, giving them the one-point 54-53 triumph.
An 8-of-30 showing from the floor in the second period hampered McPherson's chances of victory on Friday; they made 2-of-7 from the three-point line but connected on 7-of-10 from the free throw stripe. DSU cashed in on 10-of-30 with a mere 2-of-14 going down from long range; they made it to the line just twice, going 3-of-4. The Bulldogs' bench put in 14 of their second half points.
After the 40-minute contest, MC saw 19-of-60 field goals go through the net including a 3-of-12 showing from downtown; they posted a 12-of-18 mark from the stripe. Mac outrebounded Dakota State 44-39 and hauled in 17 offensive boards. They tallied 15 turnovers to go along with 12 assists and 11 steals. 36 points were counted in the paint for McPherson in their loss.
Aubrey Barton (Pratt, Kan.) was the lone Bulldog to hit double-digits scoring; she went 5-of-17 from the floor with all five of her free throws falling and also netted three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Callie Atkins (Stillwater, Okla.) gave Mac a spark off the bench, hitting 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and ended the game with nine. Brown (Glen Elder, Kan.) was next on the list, scoring eight on 2-of-5 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.
McPherson now plays 4-10 Haskell Indian Nations University tomorrow, January 4th at 4:00 p.m. (CT); the Indians are coming off a blowout victory over Bethel College.
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