McPherson, Kan. – The MC women's basketball team put themselves in a position to pick up a win on Wednesday but the sharp-shooting of Mount Marty College proved too much as the Bulldogs fell 79-66 in both team's final game of the Rib Crip-Kansas Wesleyan Coyote Classic.
After giving up the game's first point, MC scored the next 10 to lead 10-1 less than three minutes in. A 12-2 run by the Lancers gave them the lead, and after a back-and-forth final five minutes, the period ended with MMC ahead 24-23. Mount Marty led for all but a minute of the second quarter and went into the locker room leading 41-35. McPherson had a good first period of shooting but weren't so hot in the second, leading to a 37.5 shooting percentage; they made 12-of-32 from the field and went 9-of-13 from the foul line. The Lady Lancers hit on 12-of-27 field goals with 6-of-15 from deep; they converted on 11-of-16 free throws.
For the second-straight game, the Bulldogs won the third quarter. The team stormed out of the gate and took the lead just a couple minutes into the period. After leading by as many of three, Mac gave up a couple of mini-runs that led to a 55-51 MMC advantage with 10 minutes to play. In the fourth, McPherson again pushed forward and tied things up at 60-60 with less than five to go. Mount Marty then went on an 11-0 run and were able to get up by as many as 16. The Lady 'Dogs continued to fight but shots just would not fall, leading to the 13-point loss. Mac dropped in 11-of-31 from the floor with 2-of-6 coming from range; the team put 7-of-13 foul shots through the net. MMC only had to take 21 field goals in the second half and made nine with 5-of-11 from deep; they scored on 15-of-16 free throws.
McPherson ended the game making 23-of-63 from the field including 4-of-10 from behind the arc; they netted 16-of-26 from the charity stripe. The team pulled down 32 rebounds and also tabbed 14 turnovers, 11 assists, and nine steals. 30 points came in the paint for the Bulldogs while 13 were off of turnovers.
Ashton Bruner scored 23 points, one off her career-high, on 8-of-23 shooting along with 6-of-10 free throws; the forward grabbed seven boards and had four assists as well. Bailey Brown followed up her career-night from yesterday with 15 points on 4-of-8 field goals and 6-of-8 foul shots; she had three boards and three steals in the game. Amanda Allen bucketed 4-of-5 from the floor for her eight points and also gobbled up a team-high nine rebounds.
The next game for Mac will come on January 7th as they host York College in their first game of the New Year; tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. (CT) in the Sport Center.
Make sure to follow Bulldog Nation on Facebook (MCathletics) and Twitter (@MAC_Bulldogs)
McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
