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McPherson, Kan. – In their final road game of the 2015 calendar year, McPherson College is set to travel to Hillsboro, Kansas to take on Tabor College; start time for the JV is set for 1:00 p.m. (CT) with the varsity getting underway at 5:00.
Scouting McPherson
The Bulldogs are 3-9 this season with a 2-4 record in the KCAC; they started the conference season off with a pair of wins but have since lost four in a row. The team most recently played Bethany College in Lindsborg this past Thursday.
Last Time Out – MC stormed out of the gate against the Swedes but the home team fought back late in the period; the 'Dogs held an 18-15 lead after one. In the second, Bethany kept pushing and took the lead; they never got up by more than six which is where it stood at the break, 41-35. The third quarter was owned by BC as they increased their advantage to 17 points, 62-45. McPherson didn't go away and crept back in during the fourth. Unfortunately they could not get within single digits and ultimately fell 79-63. Mac connected on 18-of-52 field goals with 7-of-20 coming from behind the arc; they netted 20-of-31 from the charity stripe. Bethany went 25-of-60 from the floor with 7-of-17 three-point buckets; they were 22-of-33 from the line.
Bailey Brown led the 'Dogs in scoring with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting with a pair of threes and a 7-of-8 showing from the stripe; the senior grabbed seven rebounds as well. Ashton Bruner tallied another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds; she was 3-of-12 from the field and 8-of-13 from the foul line and had four assists as well. Kristina Battle scored eight off the bench, making 2-of-4 threes and 2-of-4 free throws.
Year at a Glance – McPherson sits fifth in the KCAC in scoring offense at 66.5 points a night but are eighth in points allowed at 69.7; their scoring margin of -3.2 is seventh. The team nets a third-best 40.1% from the field but make a mere 26.9% from the three-point line; the 'Dogs score on 69.5% from the charity stripe, fourth in the league. Mac pulls down 40.6 rebounds each time out along with 20.3 turnovers, 11.9 assists, 8.5 steals, and 3.5 blocks; they rank third in the conference in steals and blocks.
Brown averages a team-high 15.9 points while making nearly 50% from the field; she has dropped in 75-of-91 free throws on the year and has 59 rebounds as well. Bruner is second on the team with her 11.9ppg; she leads the team in rebounding average at 8.8 a game. Both Smarts, Georgia and Sunny, are averaging in the seven-point range this season.
McPherson will have their final conference game of 2015 next Tuesday, December 15 as they host Oklahoma Wesleyan University at 6:00 p.m. in the Sport Center.
Scouting Tabor
The Bluejays had a tough non-conference schedule to start the season and only held a 1-5 record heading into KCAC play. Since starting the league games, TC has gone 5-0 against the conference; they did lose to Haskell Indian Nations University in the bye-week game this past Monday. Most of Tabor's KCAC games have been blowouts as they have a positive scoring margin of 16.7 in those contests. The team has gotten lucky when it comes to home/away games, having played four of their five league contests in their home gym.
Last Time Out – In their most recent game, coming against Oklahoma Wesleyan University, the Bluejays led for most of the opening period but a run by OKWU late brought the score to 19-18 heading into the second. TC continued to stay out in front by a slim margin and took a 33-30 lead into the locker room. A back-and-forth battle in the third period ended with the Eagles taking a 50-48 advantage into the final 10 minutes. Tabor had an outstanding shooting quarter and OKWU did not; TC netted 9-of-13 while Oklahoma Wesleyan went 3-of-15. Needless to say, the Bluejays took the game, 75-60. Tabor went 25-of-67 for the night with 8-of-26 three-point buckets; they converted 17-of-22 free throws. The team pulled down 48 rebounds with 17 coming off the offensive glass. They also had 13 turnovers, 10 assists, eight steals, and a pair of blocks in the win.
Four TC players hit double-digits with both Mallory Zuercher and Tylor Deniston each scoring 16. Zuercher made 7-of-14 field goals with two coming from range; she also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Deniston put her points to the bench total; she made 5-of-9 from the floor and both of her foul shots. Tena Loewen scored on 1-of-2 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line for 12 points; she pulled down nine rebounds for the 'Jays. Jurnee Reid added 10 points to the cause on a perfect night shooting, 4-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the stripe.
Year at a Glance – Tabor is not the highest scoring team in the league, eighth at 64.0ppg, but they are second in scoring defense allowing just 62.2 points to their opponents; their scoring margin of 1.85 is fourth in the league. The Bluejays are making 39.5% from the floor with 31.8% going in from behind the arc; they net 67.3% from the foul line. The team is grabbing 37.3 rebounds each time out along with 15.2 turnovers, 11.2 assists, 8.4 steals, and 2.3 blocks.
Zuercher is the top scorer for TC this season at 9.3 points per contest; she has made a team leading 46 field goals. Reid is a very close second as she is at 9.2; she is atop the squad in free throw makes with 25 and also rebounding average at 5.8. Loewen scores 7.0 points a night and brings in tallies 4.4 boards.
A rare road trip is next for the Bluejays as they travel to Sterling College on December 15th.
