McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College women's basketball team opened the season with a home contest against Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College of Oklahoma on Thursday night. The game needed an extra period to determine a winner and in the end, the Saints scored one more bucket than MC, giving the visitors the 85-82 victory.
Playing in the new four-quarter style that was implemented this year for both the NAIA and the NCAA, the two teams went tit for tat throughout most of the opening 10-minute period. The Lady 'Dogs led 16-11 heading into the second quarter.
In the second, the Bulldogs thrived as they ran Coach Reimer's four out, one in offense to near perfection. MC more than doubled their lead and got up by as many as 14 in the closing minutes of the half. At the break, Mac held a 38-29 advantage.
The Lady 'Dogs shot the ball moderately well in the opening half, making 12-of-39 field goals including five from deep; they went 9-of-16 from the foul stripe. Hillsdale was just 9-of-29 from the floor and had three threes.
After halftime, McPherson stayed out in front and quickly pushed their lead back to 14; the 'Dogs stayed ahead by 10+ for the entire third quarter with their largest lead of 16 coming at the four-minute mark. After 30 minutes in the books, MC led 60-49.
The Saints' offense came to life in the fourth quarter and they began picking away at McPherson's lead. In the waning minutes, Hillsdale had closed the gap to one-point with under two minutes remaining. An offensive rebound by the Saints gave them on last chance to tie things up which they did with 30 seconds to go. A three-point heave by Mac went off target at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
In OT, McPherson was up in the first half but a swing in momentum midway through the period put Hillsdale in control down the stretch. The Bulldogs had a couple of opportunities late but a pair of threes wouldn't drop, ending the game at 85-82.
MC counted 15-of-46 from the field and just 2-of-20 from behind the arc in the final 25 minutes; they made 12 of their 14 free throws. The Saints were 20-of-41 including 7-of-11 from distance; the team struggled from the line, making just 9-of-17.
McPherson may not have won the game but there were several bright spots. First, the team's 40-minute point total of 72 is over 10 points better than last year's average. They also got a great performance from McPherson native Ashton Bruner who ended the night with 14 points (6-of-13 FG, 2-of-5 FT), 15 rebounds (nine defensive, six offensive), and a pair of blocks. Both of the Bulldogs' leading scorers from last year, Bailey Brown and Sunny Smart, scored 17 points and pulled in six boards apiece; Brown was 3-of-10 from the floor and a stellar 10-of-11 from the stripe while Smart made 5-of-21 field goals and all four free throws. Freshman point guard Kristina Battle had a few strong moves to the basket en route to her nine points. And, the MC bench is much deeper, and provided some solid minutes. The future looks bright for the Bulldogs.
The team gets to get back on the court this Saturday as they travel to Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas for a 3:00 p.m. (CT) tipoff.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
