LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College women's basketball team slipped to 7-6 overall and 3-5 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) following a 101-74 loss at the University of Saint Mary Tuesday at the Ryan Sports Center.
The Spires (5-9, 4-4 KCAC) used a smothering defense to fuel a 12-0 run, leading to a 28-15 lead after one quarter. The hosts forced eight turnovers in the period.
Saint Mary continued to build upon its lead to start the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the period before a
Brittni Harlow (Lincoln, Kan., Lincoln HS) layup ended the run with 7:30 to play. McPherson ended up scoring 10 of the next 11 to cut the deficit to eight at the midpoint of the quarter. The run could not be sustained, though, as Saint Mary responded with 11 straight points over the next three minutes, including seven from Candy De Los Reyes, to push the lead back to 19 with 2:04 left in the half.
The Spires outscored the Bulldogs, 8-6, down the stretch to take a 54-33 lead into the break. All eight Saint Mary points came at the free-throw line, where the hosts were 16-of-19 in the first half.
McPherson cut into the Saint Mary lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Spires, 24-18, while shooting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the field to trail 72-57. The Bulldogs also made all four of their free throw attempts in the period.
Isabella Bacon (Sapulpa, Okla., Sapulpa HS) drained a pair of free throws just seconds into the fourth quarter to make it a 13-point game, but the Spires went on a 22-3 run to push the lead to 32 points with 4:05 to play. A 3-pointer by Summer Frantz with 39 seconds remaining put Saint Mary over the century mark, while a Harlow 3-pointer and a pair of Emma Van Donselaar free throws set the final margin.
The Spires finished the game shooting 64.3 percent (36-of-56) from the field, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from 3-point range and 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the free throw line. Saint Mary also forced 23 McPherson turnovers.
De Los Reyes finished with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including four 3-pointers. She also had four steals and two assists. Imani White added 23 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field and a 9-of-11 effort at the charity stripe, while adding six steals, three blocks and two assists. Kelsey Switzer was the third Spire over 20 points, finishing with 26. She added six assists and three rebounds. Ashley Hinkle tallied a game-high eight assists.
McPherson shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) at the line.
Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) led the Bulldogs with 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Brooke Racette (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) added 10 points off the bench, while
Brooklyn Coe (Corvallis, Ore., Chemeketa CC) had nine and Harlow,
Kristina Battle (Houston, Texas, Austin HS) and
Maressah Milum (Douglas, Kan., Independence CC) had eight apiece.
McPherson closes out its pre-holiday schedule Thursday night with a trip to Bethany, Oklahoma, to face Southwestern Christian University. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
