Women's Basketball | 2/27/2014 12:08:00 AM
Box Score
Winfield, Kan. – The 2013-14 basketball season is now over for the McPherson College Lady Bulldogs after they suffered a 71-57 defeat to the KCAC Regular Season Champion Southwestern College Moundbuilders. Coach Reimer's inaugural year as coach of the 'Dogs ended with a 10-21 record and a sixth place finish in the conference.
McPherson started strong on Wednesday and led for the first several minutes of the contest; the Lady Builders charged back on their home court and put multiple shots through the net to tie things up and eventually take the lead by the halfway mark. SWC increased their lead to double-digits and looked to have things under control but a mini-run by Mac brought the score to 41-25 at the break.
The Bulldogs counted 7-of-21 in the opening period; they drained 3-of-10 from deep and eight of their nine free throws. Southwestern knocked down 12-of-28 with 4-of-18 from downtown; they connected on 13-of-17 from the charity stripe. The Moundbuilders took advantage of MC's 15 turnovers as they scored 20 of their point off of Bulldog TOs.
The second period started as a back-and-forth contest with neither team giving an inch, keeping Mac's deficit between 10 and 20 points. With under 10 minutes to go, the Lady 'Dogs began their comeback and started tearing through the Builders and got the score margin back to single figures; following an 8-0 run, 5:48 was showing on the clock and MC trailed by just seven. You could feel it in the air that the game was the 'Dogs to take but shots just wouldn't fall down the stretch. The top team of the KCAC showed why they earned that spot with an 11-4 run to close out the contest, winning 71-57.
Mac cashed in on 12-of-30 in the game's final 20 minutes including 4-of-13 from distance; they shot only five free throws, making four. Southwestern went 11-of-31 which includes 5-of-15 from behind the arc; they put three of four foul shots through the net.
For the game, McPherson scored on 19-of-51 with 7-of-23 three balls falling through; they missed just two free throws, converting on 12-of-14. 39 rebounds were tabulated by the Lady Bulldogs including 11 on the offensive end. They logged 21 turnovers, just six in the second half, 10 assists, four steals and five blocks. 32 of the team's total points were scored in the paint.
Bailey Brown (Glen Elder, Kan.) had an impressive outing, scoring 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul stripe; she also grabbed six rebounds in her team-high 32 minutes played. Despite getting in foul trouble early, Aubrey Barton (Pratt, Kan.) played very well as she tallied 16 points on 6-of-12 field goals including 2-of-3 from distance; she went 2-of-2 from the stripe and swatted away a game-high four balls. Breahna Gillespie (Little River, Kan.) grabbed 12 rebounds, scored nine points, had four assists and two steals in her final 28 minutes as a Bulldog.
It's offseason training now for the majority of the McPherson squad and recruiting for the coaching staff as the 2014-15 season is already approaching.
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