Women's Basketball | 2/25/2014 4:35:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – The opening round of the 2013-14 KCA Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament is set to begin on February 26
th and the No. 8 Lady Bulldogs have drawn No.1 Southwestern College for the Wednesday night matchup; start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CT) in Stewart Field House in Winfield, Kansas.
The 'Dogs are 10-20 on the year, 6-10 in the KCAC giving them a tie at the sixth place position; due to Krause Points, MC pulled the eighth seed. They have gone 0-2 against the Moundbuilders this season, dropping a 73-67 home contest on January 22nd and a 69-54 road defeat on this past Saturday, the 22nd of February. In both contests, Mac trailed by just a handful in the first half but couldn't stop the high-scoring offense of the Builders in the second period; the Bulldogs will need to be running full throttle for 40 minutes if they want to come out victorious on Wednesday.
Scouting McPherson:
MC heads into the postseason averaging 59.6 points each time out with a negative 4.9 scoring margin; they drop down 36.9 percent of their field goals including 27.9 from beyond the arc. The team tabs 39.2 rebounds each game and have a rebounding margin of 1.6; the 'Dogs also log 18.9 turnovers, 12.3 assists, 7.7 steals and 2.5 blocks through their 30 games. In their 18 KCAC outings, Mac is averaging 59.5 points on offense, making 39.1 percent from the floor while giving up 64.5 to their opponent who shot in 38.8%. McPherson rebounds 36 a night while also recording 18.8 turnovers, 12.3 assists, 7.3 steals, and 3.0 blocks against league institutions.
Freshman Aubrey Barton is the team's top player on offense as she nets 13.1 points per game, shooting in 132 field goals to lead the Bulldogs; she also has pulled down a team-high 195 rebounds, 6.5 on average. Bailey Brown is next on the list and the only other MC player to hit over double figures scoring on a regular basis with her 11.3 per game total; she is the top free thrower as she has drained 132-of-173 and sits second in rebounding with 6.1 an outing. The top three-point shooters for McPherson are Sunny Smart and Chandler Short who have netted 49 and 28, respectively.
The outcome of the February 26th competition will advance to the second round of the tournament and face the winner of the No. 4 Ottawa University vs. No. 5 Kansas Wesleyan University contest; the game will be played on Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m. at the higher seed.
Scouting Southwestern
The Lady Moundbuilders completed their sweep of the KCAC with their victory over McPherson this past weekend; they ended the regular season at 26-3 overall and with the No. 8 ranking in the NAIA Division-II national poll. SWC has won 14-straight with their only two losses since November 2nd coming over the holiday break against two top-25 NAIA D-II institutions in Hastings College and College of the Ozarks.
Southwestern is scoring 76.2 points a game on 42% shooting from the field and 35.4 from distance; they allow 65 a night to their foes. The team knocks down over nine three-point buckets each time they hit the court and also rebound over 40 balls; the Moundbuilders average 16.0 assists, 13.7 turnovers, 7.7 steals and 2.5 blocks as well. SWC is among the top three in most offensive categories of the KCAC including scoring per game (74.17), field goal percentage (42.8), three-point percentage (35.0), three pointers made a contest (8.61), total rebounds per game (37.94), and assists a contest (16.61).
It is truly a group effort for the Builders as they have just one player that is averaging double-digits scoring this season; Jessica Hobbs tabulates 12.3 each game and has made a team-high 79 three balls. Jana Reichenberger is pulling down a team leading 6.9 rebounds each time out while scoring 9.3; she is also second in free throws made with 61 of her 85 falling in. Three Southwestern players score over eight a night in Sheri Zoglmann (8.4), Trinicia Shaffer (8.2) and the other Hobbs sister, Jordan (8.2); Zefiryn Bryan, who is a multi-All-KCAC athlete, is only asked to score 7.5 each game for the Moundbuilders. SWC has started the same group of players all season aside from one game, senior night.
Much like Mac, the Builders' fate for the KCAC tournament is determined by Wednesday's outcome but, as being the conference regular season champions, Southwestern College has already locked up a spot in the upcoming 2014 NAIA National Championships.
