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McPherson, Kan. – MC women's basketball will look to stay undefeated in the KCAC on Saturday as they travel to North Newton, Kansas for a 5:00 p.m. (CT) matchup with the Bethel College Threshers; the JV squads will compete at 1:00.
The Lady 'Dogs are coming off a much needed victory against Bethany College on Thursday. The opening half was controlled by BC as they started the game with a 9-2 run and then stayed out in front throughout the 20 minutes. Mac trailed 33-30 at the break but, in all reality, should have been on top as they committed 16 first half turnovers; the Bulldogs scored on 11-of-25 from the field while Bethany was 12-of-34.
The second half was much more even as the two clubs stayed close throughout; neither team led by more than a couple buckets in the final 20 minutes. In the end, McPherson's free throw shooting allowed them to prevail with the 74-68 victory. In the second period, Mac went 13-of-30 from the field including 5-of-12 from deep. The Swedes made 12-of-32 from the floor.
In the 40-minute contest, the 'Dogs knocked down 24-of-55 from the field including 7-of-19 from distance; 19-of-24 attempts from the charity stripe fell through. The team out-boarded Bethany 50-32 with the majority coming off the defensive glass. Mac also tabbed 24 turnovers, 18 assists but just two steals. It was a foul-happy game as three of McPherson's starting five ended the night with four fouls.
Bailey Brown scored a game-high 21 points as she made 6-of-10 field goals and 8-of-11 free throws; she also had nine rebounds. Sunny Smart connected on 4-of-11 threes, 1-of-1 twos, and 2-of-2 foul shots for her 16 points; the junior also had three rebounds and four assists. Freshman Alicia Demerat was a beast on the boards for the Bulldogs as she hauled in 17, 14 of which were defensive rebounds; the forward also scored on 4-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the stripe for 10 points.
MC in the National Rankings: Sunny Smart sits sixth in the NAIA D-II in total three-point buckets with 34 and is ninth in threes per game at 3.091. Bailey Brown is 14th in total scoring with her 185 points; the 5-5 guard is 20th in total rebounds with 91. As a team, McPherson is 10th in total rebounds on the year with 488 and 11th in defensive three-point field goal percentage at 23.8%.
Mac has a pair of home games to end out the 2014 conference season beginning with Kansas Wesleyan University on December 11th; tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
Scouting Bethel
The Lady Threshers are 2-6 on the year with wins coming against York College in their opening game of the year and Central Christian College in their final non-conference game. On Thursday, in the opening game of the KCAC season, Bethel lost 52-45 to the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth.
BC held the lead for the first 10 minutes of the contest but an 11-0 run by the Spires put them ahead 13-7 midway through the half. Bethel ended the period with a run of their own sending them into halftime ahead 22-15 in a very low scoring first half. The teams shot 20%, USM, and 34%, BC, from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Bethel jumped out to a 10-point lead a few minutes into the second half but the Spires wouldn't go away. Saint Mary got things close and then took the lead with 2:38 showing on the clock. The Threshers went cold from the field and USM took advantage as they increased their lead to nine with just 30 seconds remaining; the Spires came away with the 52-45 victory.
The Lady Threshers went 18-of-58 in the game but made just 2-of-14 from behind the arc; they also had issues at the stripe as a mere 41.2% of their free throws fell through, 7-of-17. Saint Mary out rebounded BC 39-32 and Bethel had just nine offensive boards. The team turned the ball over 16 times while accruing eight assists and four steals. April Harpe led the team in scoring with her 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting along with 1-of-4 free throws; the senior also 10 rebounds. Lauren Ulrich made 4-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from the foul line for her 12 points.
The team is scoring 62.5 points a night but allowing 67.5. They knock in 35.2% of their field goals and are a poor 21.8% from deep; BC counts just 56.8 percent of their free throws. The Threshers tend to do a nice job on the glass as they average 44.1 rebounds a night. The team also nets 20.6 turnovers, 11.3 assists, and 10.0 steals each time out.
In her fifth year at Bethel, Harpe is the team's leading scorer with an average of 15.3 points; she also tops the team in rebounding with her 8.8 a game. Ulrich has started all eight games and tabs 12.4 scoring; she has made a team-high 11 three balls and 28 free throws. Taylor Durant and Jessica Ebenkamp return from last year and are the other two consistent starters and score 6.8 and 5.4 a night, respectively.
Bethel hits the road next week for two more conference games; they travel to Bethany College on the 11th for their next contest.
