MOORE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College women's basketball team opened its 2016-2017 season with a 59-52 victory at Randall University Monday night.
Both teams got off to a chilly start. McPherson (1-0) shot just 25 percent (3-of-12) from the field and missed on all four attempts from 3-point range, while Randall (0-1) shot 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from the field and 2-of-9 from behind the arc en route to an 11-7 lead after one quarter.
The Bulldogs started to catch fire in the second quarter, improving their shooting to 34.8 percent (8-of-23) while the Saints struggled to 16.7 percent (3-of-18) shooting. McPherson outscored Randall, 18-8, in the frame to take a 25-19 lead into the halftime break.
McPherson pulled away in the third quarter, holding Randall to just one field goal - a 3-pointer - on 18 attempts while outscoring the Saints, 22-9. The Bulldogs shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field and 66.7 percent from both 3-point range (2-of-3) and at the free throw line (6-of-9).
Randall chipped away at the lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring McPherson, 24-12, but the Bulldogs were able to keep the Saints at arms length.
Kristina Battle (Houston, Texas) scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead the Bulldogs (1-0).
Maressah Milum (Douglas, Kan.) and
Danielle Holt (Glenpool, Okla.) each had six points and nine rebounds, while Milum added a team-high five assists.
Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan.) added six points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while
Isabella Bacon (Sapulpa, Okla.) had nine points off the bench.
Randall was led by 17 points from Caitlin White off the bench. White was 6-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-9 on 3-pointers. She also had eight rebounds and four steals. Julie Garrard had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
McPherson dominated in points in the paint, outscoring Randall by a 30-12 margin.
"We played really well at some points of the game, but there were points where it was obvious that we needed to gel a little more as a team," said head coach Gordon Reimer. "For the first night out, on the road with a lot of freshman and sophomores, I thought they did really well."
Next up for the Bulldogs is the McPherson Classic on Friday and Saturday. McPherson will face Haskell Indian Nations University at 6 p.m. Friday and Bacone College at 4 p.m. Saturday.
