Winfield, Kan. – For the first time since January of 2007, the McPherson College women's basketball team defeated Southwestern College, breaking a 19-game losing streak. It was a neck-and-neck battle throughout but in the end, a late bucket by the Bulldogs gave them their first conference win of the season, 59-58.
Both teams struggled to put points on the board in the opening period with the score sitting at just 14-11 in favor of the home team. The pace of play improved in the second and McPherson used an 8-0 run to take the lead around the four-minute mark. After one half of play, the 'Dogs held a 30-28 advantage.
MC made 12-of-27 first half field goals with 3-of-10 threes dropping; they had issues at the foul line, making just 3-of-9. The Moundbuilders shot the ball four more times than Mac, scoring on 10-of-31 from the field; they netted just 1-of-10 from behind the arc but hit 7-of-9 free throws.
The third quarter was full of fouls by both teams. The Bulldogs fouled early while SWC accumulated fouls in the later stages of the period; a total of 14 fouls were called in the 10 minutes. The Builders took the lead on a 7-0 run and held on to go into the fourth up 45-44.
It was a back-and-forth final quarter with both teams looking to get the edge. The game was knotted up at 57-57 from the 3-minute mark until the final seconds. SWC made it to foul line with just 3.9 seconds remaining. After missing the first, the second went through to give the Builders a one-point lead, 58-57. Taking advantage of one of the new rule changes, McPherson called timeout which moved the ball to half court. A nicely designed play by Coach Reimer was executed to perfection and Ashton Bruner hit her layup to put Mac ahead 59-58 with just 0.4 showing on the clock. After a SWC timeout, the Moundbuilders had one last chance but the shot went off target, giving the game to McPherson.
MC netted 9-of-27 in the final 20 minutes with 3-of-9 dropping from deep; they connected on 8-of-11 from the stripe. Southwestern made nine field goals as well, 9-of-28, and again struggled from range, hitting just 2-of-13; the team was 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs closed out the game with a 38.9 shooting percentage; they counted 21-of-54 from the floor with 6-of-19 from distance. Mac shot just 55% from the charity stripe, going 11-of-20. The team lost the rebounding title 35-to-46 and gave up 16 offensive boards. However, they did win the turnover battle 18-to-22; the 'Dogs also logged 12 steals, eight assists, and a block in the win. 34 of their total points came in the paint while 25 were scored from bench players and 19 were off of SWC turnovers.
Freshman Amanda Allen was big for McPherson on Thursday night as she scored a team-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting with 2-of-6 threes falling; the forward made both of her free throws and also pulled in six rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Georgia Smart was next on the scoring list with her 13, coming on 5-of-14 with 3-of-4 foul shots; the senior also grabbed five total rebounds. Bailey Brown was the final double-digit scorer for Mac with her 10-point total; she hit 3-of-8 field goals with two threes while making 2-of-4 from the stripe.
McPherson will stay on the road for their next bout as they head to North Newton, Kansas to face Bethel College on November 21st. The JV is set to start at 1:00 p.m. (CT) with varsity commencing at 5:00.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
