Wichita, Kan. – It's hard to win games when your shots are falling and unfortunately for the McPherson College women's basketball team, that was the case on Saturday night as they dropped a 71-62 contest to Friends University.
The first quarter was a rough one for MC as they struggled to get out of the blocks, scoring just 10 points in the period with most coming in the final couple minutes; fortunately, Friends also had a tough time putting up points and the score sat at 13-10. The field goal percentage improved for the Bulldogs in the second period but it did for FU as well, especially from three-point land where they went 5-of-11 in the quarter which helped them take a 32-23 lead into their home locker room. McPherson made a lowly 7-of-30 in the first half with all six three-point tries going awry; they did a nice job at the line, converting on 9-of-11. The Lady Falcons netted 12-of-33 field goals with 8-of-19 going in from behind the arc; they did not shoot a free throw in the game's first 20 minutes.
After falling behind by double-digits, the Bulldogs were able to close the gap to five and trailed by seven with one period to play. Friends tried to put Mac away in the fourth quarter but the 'Dogs weren't having any of it as they kept the game close throughout the final period. MC, after trailing by as many as 13, got the game back into single figures and eventually down to five points; sadly, there were just a few seconds left on the clock by that time and the Falcons were able to go on to win the nine-point game. McPherson shot better in the second half but still not where they want to be, 12-of-31 from the field and just 2-of-10 from three; the team hit their first three-point bucket with less than two minutes to play in the game. The Bulldogs made 13-of-20 free throws. FU dropped in 13-of-37 from the floor with 2-of-13 from range; they were 11-of-15 from the charity stripe.
Mac ended the game with a 31.3 shooting percentage as they made 19-of-61 from the floor and just 2-of-16 from distance; the team connected on 22-of-31 foul shots. The Lady 'Dogs pulled in 44 rebounds including 19 on the offensive end of the court; they had 17 turnovers, nine steals, four assists, and one block. 30 points came in the paint for MC and 20 were off of turnovers.
Ashton Bruner scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-11 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws; she pulled down six rebounds and had a team-high two assists. Bailey Brown dropped in just 4-of-14 from the floor but made 10-of-14 from the stripe for her 18 points; the senior had six rebounds as well. Amanda Allen scored eight points for MC and recorded a team-high eight rebounds.
Next Thursday night McPherson will take on inter-county rival Bethany College in the Sport Center; tipoff is set for 2:00 for the junior varsity and 6:00 for the varsity. The game is the annual Pink Out Night so be sure to wear your pink!
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
