McPherson, Kan. – Despite scoring their fourth highest total for the year, the McPherson College women's basketball team fell to Sterling College on Saturday night 82-72. The 'Dogs are now 4-22 on the year and 3-11 in the KCAC.
The teams went back-and-forth for the first several minutes with SC holding a slim lead; the Warrior advantage moved into double figures by the midway point of the half. After trailing by 13, MC surged forward and got their deficit back under 10; they headed into the locker room down 41-34 after a buzzer-beating layup by Zatorian Abra. The 'Dogs shot in a solid 14-of-33 with 5-of-13 three balls falling from deep; they were just 1-of-5 from the foul line. Sterling bucketed over 50% of their field goals, 17-of-32, but made just 3-of-11 from behind the arc.
In the second, McPherson stayed on the heels of SC for the first 10 minutes but a run by the Warriors pushed the score margin to 19 with just over eight minutes remaining. The Bulldogs had a 7-0 run late in the game but were stopped short due to lack of time; Mac played good enough down the stretch to win but had dug too deep of a hole. The final score sat at 82-72 in favor of Sterling. MC posted another impressive field goal percentage of 48% as 12-of-25 shots fell; they went 4-of-7 from range and 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. The Lady Warriors connected on 15-of-34 from the floor with 5-of-15 threes dropping; they made just 6-of-12 free throws.
McPherson made 26-of-58 field goals for the night, posting their second highest field goal percentage at 44.8%; they were 9-of-20 from downtown and 11-of-18 from the stripe. They grabbed just 28 rebounds while SC recorded 46; the 'Dogs only had 11 boards in the second half. Mac did well sharing the rock as they tabbed 17 assists; they also had 15 turnovers, four steals, and three blocks. The team scored 33 points in the paint, 14 came from the bench, and 12 of their total were second chance points.
Bailey Brown ended the game scoring 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting including 2-of-4 threes and 3-of-5 foul shots. Sunny Smart came alive from deep as she cashed in on 5-of-10 threes; she was 1-of-4 from the rest of the field and 2-of-4 from the line for her 19 points. Smart also had a team-high nine rebounds and tallied three assists. Abra led the team in the assist category with four and also added in 13 points.
McPherson is now scheduled for a two-game road trip starting with Ottawa University on February 12th; start time is set for 6:00 p.m. (CT)
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
