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McPherson, Kan. – In their first game of 2016, the McPherson College women's basketball team will take on York College on January 7th tipping off at 6:00 p.m. (CT) in the Sport Center.
Scouting McPherson
The Lady Bulldogs are sitting at 5-12 on the season and have had their share of close games. Through their 17 contests, there have been six decided by less than five points; Mac has been able to split those evenly thus far. Their two most recent outings came in a tournament hosted by Kansas Wesleyan; the 'Dogs lost 71-60 to Dakota State University on day one of the tourney and 79-66 on day two to Mount Marty College
Last Time Out – In the matchup with MMC, the Bulldogs started the game hot, jumping out to a 10-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Lancers pushed back with a run of their own and took the lead just a few minutes later. The high-scoring first quarter ended at 24-23. In the second period, Mount Marty stayed out in front throughout and went into the locker room up 41-35. After the break MC again came out firing and took the lead off a 9-0 run. MMC answered with a streak of their own and headed into the final period up 55-51. The Bulldogs were determined not to go down without a fight and came back to tie the game at 60-60 with just under five minutes to play. Sadly Mac only scored six points the rest of the way, giving the game to Mount Marty 79-66.
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.
Year at a Glance – McPherson is averaging 65.7 points a night while allowing 70.2. The team nets 39.1% from the floor while making 68.4% from the foul line, both are fourth in the KCAC; the 'Dogs hit just 27.9% from behind the arc, ninth in the league. They allow their opponents to score on 40.4% from the floor and 32.8% from range. MC pulls down nearly 40 rebounds a night and have a positive rebounding margin of 4.3; they also log 18.8 turnovers, 11.5 assists, 8.4 steals, and 3.2 blocks a game.
Brown is scoring a team-high 15.6 points per game while also rebounding 4.7; she has made 99-of-118 free throws this season. Bruner sits at 13.3 points a contest and also leads the team in rebounding average with 8.8; the senior tops MC in field goals made with 79. Sunny Smart averages 7.9 points each time out and has bucketed a team-high 28 three balls this year.
McPherson will host Sterling College on Saturday for their first conference game of the New Year. JV is set to start at 1:00 p.m. while varsity will get underway at 5:00.
Scouting York
The Panthers, who will join the KCAC in the 2016-17 school year, are 5-6 this season. The last game for York was an 86-73 win over the University of Saint Mary but it came back on December 17th; Thursday's contest will mark 21 days from the last competition for YC.
Year at a Glance – York is scoring 74.2 points a game while allowing 75.1 for a negative 0.9 scoring margin. They make 38.2% from the field with 30% of their three-point attempts falling through; the team converts 67.4% from the charity stripe. The Panthers are allowing their opponents to make 38.1% of their field goals with 30.9% coming from deep. The team grabs 44.8 rebounds each time out but have a -2.9 rebounding margin. They also record 18.0 turnovers, 12.4 assists, 10.2 steals, and 2.5 blocks per contest.
McCorra Ford is the leading scorer for YC at 16.4 points a night; she has made 66 field goals in her team's 11 games and also grabs 6.5 rebounds per game. MacKenzie Eller nets 13.9 points through her 10 games this season; she pulls down 6.4 rebounds on average. Greer Kleber is third on the list with her 12.6 average; the senior leads the team in rebounding with 79 total.
The next contest for the Panthers will come on January 16th as they travel to Mount Mercy.
