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McPherson, Kan. – The 2014-15 basketball season for McPherson College is upon us. The Bulldogs will travel to Lawrence, Kansas where they will face Haskell Indian Nations University on November 1st with the game commencing at 5:30 p.m. (CT)
The Lady 'Dogs will look to get off to a fast start in Coach Gordon Reimer's second season at the helm. The squad returns five players including two starters from the 10-21 team of last year. Bailey Brown and Whitney Jefferson both started each of the team's 31 games from 2013-14. Brown averaged 11.5 points per game as a sophomore and played a team-high 997 minutes; she broke a few school records as the guard made it to the free throw line more than any MC player before her. Jefferson was second on the team in minutes played last season as she put in 824; also a junior, Jefferson boasted a team-high 67 assists and also had 27 steals and 88 points on the year.
Other returners for Mac include Sunny Smart, Callie Atkins, and Brenda Tejero. Smart, a spot-up shooter, drained a team-high 50 three balls last season; she hit on 31.6% of her shots from downtown. A freshman a year ago, Atkins played a larger role down the stretch for the Bulldogs; she ended the year with 93 points in just 346 minutes played. Tejero saw the court on just seven occasions but went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
There are 10 new faces for the Lady Bulldogs, eight freshmen and two junior transfers. Georgia Smart and Megan Aklin both come from Seminole State Community College in Oklahoma and will be instant impact players for Coach Reimer. Ali Demerat is one of a few freshman that will play some heavy minutes this season for Mac; the 6-2 forward gives McPherson a presence inside that they lost with the departure of Aubrey Barton.
Following their game with the Indians of Haskell, McPherson will next travel to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to face the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles; the non-conference matchup begins at 6:00 p.m. on November 4th.
Scouting Haskell
The Lady Indians will be a difficult opponent this year as they return all of their key players from last season's 14-18 squad; it is worth noting that McPherson beat HINU in the opener last season but the Indians evened the series in MC's January tournament. Haskell has already taken down one KCAC school this year as they blasted Bethany College 92-51 on October 27th.
In their contest with the Swedes, HINU shot terrifically in Bethany's gym; the team went 31-of-54 from the field and were 11-of-21 from deep. The five starters each made it into double-digits and combined for 10-of-12 from three-point land; Haskell's starters averaged 20 minutes of playing time in the blow-out. The center for the Indians, Keli Warrior, led the team in scoring with her 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting; she was also 5-of-8 from the charity stripe and had 10 rebounds to lead all players. Tinaya Murphy knocked down 4-of-7 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws for her 13 points.
Last season, Warrior started in just 22 games but played in all but one of the team's 32 contests; she led the team in rebounding, 201 total, and scoring with her 16.4 points per game average. Jenine Coriz started each of the team's games last season and was on the court a team-high 1066 minutes; she averaged 14 points a night and made a team-high 55 three pointers on the year. After those two, the team was made up of role players. Kortney Meat averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest and Jennah Williams was next with 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Haskell will host Park University on November 6th for their next contest.
