North Newton, Kan. – It was a tough loss for the Lady Bulldog basketball team as they fell to Bethel College 69-64. McPherson moves to 2-10 on the year and 1-1 against conference teams.
The Lady 'Dogs got down early to Bethel but a 13-0 run midway through the half put Mac ahead eight; they would extend their lead to 13 a few minutes later. The Threshers upped their defensive pressure and charged right back and were able to pull even by halftime after they scored the final eight points. Mac put in 9-of-22 in the opening half with 4-of-11 going down from deep and 10-of-12 from the stripe. BC counted 11-of-34 field goals with 2-of-3 coming from behind the arc.
In the second half the two clubs battled it out from the get-go, trading the lead back and forth. McPherson went up midway through the half by a couple buckets and seemed to be in control but again, BC battled back and took the momentum with just a few minutes to play. MC struggled scoring late as they put up just 10 points in the final seven minutes causing them to lose 69-64. The 'Dogs shot in 12-of-20 two pointers but went 0-of-9 from distance; they also had issues at the stripe, making just 8-of-18. Bethel didn't fare any better as they made 39% from the floor, went 1-of-8 from three-point range, and 8-of-19 from the line.
McPherson closed out the game converting 21 of their 51 shot attempts; they went 4-of-20 from long range and 18-of-30 from the free throw line. The team outrebounded BC 50-36 and tabbed 12 offensive boards. Mac threw the ball away 27 times while picking up 13 assists, six blocks, and five steals.
Bailey Brown scored a game-high 23 on 7-of-11 shooting with 9-of-13 foul shots dropping in; she also had seven rebounds and four assists. Next on the team was Sunny Smart who scored 11 and also racked up 14 rebounds; she had three assists. Alicia Demaret recorded a team-high three blocks and added in five boards.
The Bulldogs have a pair of home games to finish out 2014; they start by hosting Kansas Wesleyan University on December 11th at 6:00 p.m. (CT)
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
