Women's Basketball | 2/11/2014 12:17:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – On February 13
th, Coach Reimer will make his first trip back to Kansas Wesleyan since becoming the coach of the Lady Bulldogs. Start time for the Thursday night matchup is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (CT)
The 'Dogs will be entering the game following a good showing against the KCAC's second best squad in Tabor College. The first half began with a back-and-forth play as the two teams stayed within a basket of each other; TC put it into overdrive at the 10-minute mark, going on a 10-0 run and took a 39-26 lead into the locker room. Mac made 10-of-27 in the first 20 minutes with just two of their 12 three balls falling through; they converted on 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Lady 'Jays dropped in 14-of-30 with 6-of-14 going down from range; 5-of-8 free throws were bucketed.
McPherson got down by as many as 16 in the second half but then came roaring back to get within six with five minutes showing on the scoreboard on the heels of a 10-0 run. Tabor retaliated and scored the next 11 points, all but sealing the deal. Mac tried one final surge but fell short, losing 67-54. The Bulldogs went 11-of-25 in the second period with 3-of-11 three balls finding the bottom of the net; they only shot six from the foul line, making three. TC was 10-of-23 from the floor and missed all six of their three-point tries; they counted 8-of-11 from the stripe.
Lady Bulldog basketball scored on 21-of-52 for the contest, bucketing 5-of-23 from beyond the three-point line; only 10 free throws were attempted, they made seven. 32 rebounds were tabbed by MC, two more than their opponent. 14 assists, 13 turnovers, five steals and five blocks were logged by the 'Dogs. 37 of McPherson's points came in the paint while the bench ended the night scoring 19.
Aubrey Barton dropped in 15 points, connecting on 6-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the foul stripe; she also netted seven rebounds, two assists and a career-high four blocks. Contributing to the bench points, freshman Callie Atkins scored 11 on 4-of-10 shooting with 2-of-8 dropping from deep and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. The Beloit High duo of Cami Engelbert and Bailey Brown each tabulated eight points; Engelbert scored all of hers in the first half while Brown had an even split between the two periods.
Scouting the Lady 'Dogs: McPherson sits at 8-18 on the year and 4-10 in the conference, putting them tied for seventh. They are netting just under 60 points an outing, making 36.4 percent from the floor; the team's scoring margin is -5.81 through 26 games. MC hits 5.2 three balls a night, dropping in 27.4% from downtown; they have a 69 percent conversion rate from the free throw stripe. The Bulldogs haul in 39.2 rebounds each time out along with 18.8 turnovers, 12.2 assists, 7.7 steals and 2.4 blocks. When facing league foes, Mac scores 60.1 per contest while allowing 66.9; they make 38.5 percent from the floor and a KCAC-high 73% from the foul line. Their 35.1 rebounding average is third worst in the conference but they net a third highest 3.0 blocks a night; the squad also tabs 18.6 turnovers, 12.1 assists, and 7.1 steals in their 14 league outings.
MC will be at home for their next two competitions, the first coming on February 15th as they face the Ottawa University Braves; start time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Scouting Kansas Wesleyan
Much like the last time these two clubs faced off, the Lady Coyotes are still in a rollercoaster season, losing then winning then losing again giving them a 12-13 overall record and 7-7 in the KCAC; the 'Yotes have not won back-to-back games since early January but haven't lost two in a row since the first part of December. Heading into Thursday, KWU will be coming off a 60-48 loss to Friends University.
It was a close first half on last Saturday between Kansas Wesleyan and the Falcons. Friends stayed out in front for most of the half and, after having a nine-point lead with three minutes left in the period, went into the locker room holding on to a two-point advantage. In the second, the Falcons remained on top but had their lead challenged a number of times with KWU getting the closest (40-39) at the eight minute mark; from there, Friends pushed ahead and got up by double-digits, coasting to a 12-point, 60-48 win. The Coyotes were a mere 16-of-54 on their home court, draining 4-of-24 from deep and 12-of-19 from the charity stripe. The Falcons dropped in 24-of-59 with four of their 11 three balls going through; they made just 50% of their 16 free throws. Kansas Wesleyan lost the rebounding battle 41-36 and also tallied 27 turnovers, eight assists, five steals and four blocks in their loss.
Christian Cassity was the lone KWU athlete to make it into double figures scoring as she hit 4-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-6 from the foul line for 12 points; she also logged a team-high three blocks. Vanessa Kresin led the squad in rebounds with her nine; she tabbed seven points on just 3-of-14 shooting. Caley Greving was the second highest scorer for the Coyotes as she went 2-of-3 from the field and 4-of-5 from the stripe for eight points; she tallied five rebounds in her 20 minutes of play.
This season, Kansas Wesleyan is averaging 67.5 points a game and have a positive scoring margin of 1.12; they knock in 39% of their field goals but are just 27.8 percent from downtown. The team is pulling down 41 rebounds a night and also record 17.9 turnovers, 10.4 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.6 blocks each time out. When they are playing their KCAC opponents, the Coyotes are scoring 65.6 a contest on offense and allow 62.5 to their competitors; they make 38.1 percent from the floor including a poor 26.6 from downtown, second worst in the conference. The squad hauls in a league leading 40.71 rebounds each time out and also lead the KCAC in blocks with 57 on the year; they tabulate 17.2 turnovers, 9.8 assists and 7.0 steals per game through their 14 conference contests.
Kresin scores an average of 15.4 points an outing to lead the 'Yotes; she's hit a team-high 137 field goals including 33 from distance. Alecia Smith is next on the list with her 14.4 average and leads the way in free throws made with 100; she tops the squad in rebounding with 8.2 a game. The final KWU athlete to make it into double-digits consistently is Cassity who buckets 13.5 points per contests; she's made 41.9 percent from the field and has tabbed a team-high 31 blocks on the year.
The Coyotes hit the road for their next two outings before ending the regular season at home; they face Bethany College in Lindsborg on Saturday.
