McPherson, Kan. – In a game led by the MC women's basketball team for nearly the entire 40 minutes, Sterling College made it interesting down the stretch but it was the home team Bulldogs who were celebrating in the end following their 64-59 victory. Mac is now 7-12 on the year and 4-5 in the KCAC.
The opening period set the tone for McPherson as they stormed out of the gate and played some great defense, holding the Lady Warriors to just six points on 2-of-16 field goals; Mac led 17-6 after the first. In the second, Sterling kept pace and made a game out of it as they hit on 4-of-5 three balls and pulled within four in the closing minutes. A Bulldog run ended the half at 35-27 in favor of the home team. MC netted 11-of-28 first half field goals including 3-of-7 from distance; they made all 10 of their free throws. Sterling connected on 10-of-32 from the floor with 5-of-11 from behind the arc; the team went 2-of-3 from the line.
The third quarter went relatively back-and-forth as both teams scored 11 points; Mac's largest lead was 13 and they never let SC get closer than eight as they led 46-38 with one period to play. The fourth was entertaining to say the least. The Bulldogs started the quarter by increasing their lead to double-digits but seven-straight by Sterling pushed the score margin to four points just a few possessions later. McPherson's advantage hovered around the five-point mark for the next several minutes as the teams traded baskets. With 1:37 showing on the clock, the Warriors had closed the gap to one point at 57-56. A 4-of-4 showing from the stripe by MC put the 'Dogs up five again with 33 ticks left. Sterling, however, would not go away as a distance three-ball moved the score back to a one possession game. After making the first of two free throws, a missed foul shot by Ashton Bruner was rebounded by Bailey Brown who hit her two from the charity stripe, moving the final score to 64-59. The Bulldogs went 8-of-21 in the second half and saw 2-of-6 threes fall in; they made 11-of-16 from the line. SC dropped in 11-of-29 field goals but made just 3-of-13 from deep; the Warriors converted on 7-of-10 free throws.
McPherson ended the game with a 38.8 shooting percentage as they made 19-of-49 from the floor; the team hit 5-of-13 threes and a solid 21-of-26 from the charity stripe. They grabbed 43 rebounds including 16 offensive boards; the 'Dogs also had 21 turnovers, 11 assists, eight blocks, and seven steals. 41 points were scored in the paint and 25 came off second chance opportunities.
Bruner led all scoring with her 20 points on 9-of-16 field goals and 4-of-7 free throws; the senior tallied a double-double with 10 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive end of the court. Brown scored 12 of her 18 points from the free throw line; she made 2-of-4 threes for the remainder of her points and had seven rebounds as well. Sunny Smart netted 4-of-12 field goals and 3-of-4 foul shots for 14 points.
The Bulldogs will travel to the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas for their next contest. The January 14th game is set to tip off at 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
