Des Moines, Kan. – The McPherson College women's basketball team was just one shot away from winning it in both regulation and overtime to AIB-College of Business but ended up losing 96-93. MC moves to 1-5 on the year.
Mac got ahead 7-0 right off the bat but the Eagles fought back and by the 14-minute mark took the lead. The 'Dogs got back in front on the next possession and stayed ahead for all but the final two and a half minutes. AIB went on an 8-3 run to finish the half and headed into the locker room up 38-35. McPherson made 13-of-28 field goals and went 6-of-7 from the stripe while the Eagles were 10-of-29 from the floor and 12-of-16 from the line.
In the second, the Bulldogs played from behind most of the time and got down by as many as 14 which came five minutes into the period. MC got their deficit back to within a handful by the midway point of the half; they continued to trail but pulled within one with 7:27 remaining. AIB surged again and went up nine just a few minutes later. The 'Dogs kept it tight and got their chance to even things with 16 seconds to go as Bailey Brown hit back-to-back free throws, sending the game into overtime.
OT was again controlled by AIB-College of Business. It took McPherson over two minutes to score and by that time they were down six. The Eagles went up 88-80 with 1:40 on the clock. An 8-2 run by MC pulled the 'Dogs within a bucket with under a minute to play. Mac had a couple of chances to tie it up and even take the lead in the final few seconds but missed free throws and untimely turnovers gave AIB the 96-93 overtime win. MC knocked down 45.9% from the floor (17-of-37) with seven falling from deep in the final 25 minutes; they struggled from the line though, making just 17-of-29. The Eagles went an impressive 50% on their 40 field goals and were 13-of-16 from the charity stripe.
30-of-65 field goals fell in for McPherson in the 45-minute contest; the team hit on 10-of-27 three balls and 23-of-36 free throws. Mac pulled down 40 rebounds and racked up an impressive 23 assists to go along with their 12 steals and four blocks. 33 of their 93 points were from bench players and 24 were scored in the paint.
Sunny Smart led all scoring with her 28 points; the junior made 5-of-12 three balls and 4-of-4 from two-point land. Smart also had a team-high seven assists, tying her with Brown who was second on the team in scoring; she had 18 with 10 coming on foul shots and also tabbed 10 rebounds to lead the team. Megan Acklin and Alicia Demerat each hit double figures scoring, bucketing 13 and 12, respectively; Acklin went 5-of-6 from the floor including hitting both of her three balls.
The 'Dogs will take on Dakota State University tomorrow with tipoff coming at 1:00 p.m. in their final game of the AIB-College of Business Classic.
Make sure to follow Bulldog Nation on Facebook (MCathletics) and Twitter (@MAC_Bulldogs)
McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
