Hillsboro, Kan. – Some nights there's just nothing you can do on defense to stop your opponent. Unfortunately for the McPherson College women's basketball team they had one of those nights as Tabor College shot the ball very well on their home court, leading to a 79-56 win for the Bluejays.
It was a tough shooting half for the Bulldogs. They opened the night with a 2-of-14 showing from the field which resulted in a 20-9 deficit after the first 10 minutes. In the second, every missed shot Mac was answered by a make by the Bluejays; MC eventually hit some shots in the closing minutes and after trailing by 24 they headed into the locker room down 17, 40-23. The 'Dogs hit on 8-of-28 from the floor, 28.6%, with 3-of-7 three balls falling through; the team made an uncharacteristically poor 4-of-11 from the charity stripe. Tabor scored on 15-of-29 field goals including 8-of-14 from distance; they connected on 2-of-3 free throws.
The third went back-and-forth for most of the quarter but a set of threes by Tabor pushed their lead towards the 30-point mark; a couple baskets by the Bulldogs would keep things in the 20s. Heading into the final period, Mac trailed 62-35. There were 24 free throws taken in the final quarter as things got physical with both teams driving to the basket for most of the quarter. McPherson made 13-of-18 but it wasn't enough as they fell 79-56. The Lady 'Dogs dropped in 8-of-17 from the field but missed all six three-point tries; they converted 17-of-24 from the line. Tabor made 13-of-33 including 4-of-10 from range; the team put in 9-of-11 free throws.
The Bulldogs were 16-of-55 from the floor for the game; they counted just 3-of-13 threes and 21-of-35 from the stripe. The team pulled down 41 rebounds with 19 coming off the offensive glass. Mac took better care of the ball in the second half as they recorded just six turnovers; they had 16 overall. They also logged five steals and just three assists. 25 points came from bench players while 20 were scored in the paint.
Ashton Bruner led all scoring with 16 points on 6-of-17 field goals and just 4-of-13 from the line; she also grabbed 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. Bailey Brown scored 12 with the majority coming from the charity stripe where she was a perfect 8-of-8; the senior made 2-of-8 from the floor. Kristina Battle added eight points to the cause while Brooke Racette and Taryn Lee each tallied seven points.
McPherson has their final conference game of 2015 on Tuesday when they host Oklahoma Wesleyan University for a 6:00 p.m. (CT) tipoff. The game is community appreciation night, so free admission for all McPherson College community members, come and support the Bulldogs!
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
