Big Second Half Pushes Sterling Past McPherson, 61-45

McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Brooklyn Coe (Corvallis, Ore., Chemeketa CC) scored a game-high 16 points but McPherson College fell to Sterling College, 61-45, in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) women's basketball game Saturday evening at the Sport Center.
 
Sterling (7-3, 3-2 KCAC) opened the game on a 7-1 run, but McPherson (7-3, 3-2 KCAC) rallied for 10 of the next 14 points to tie the game at 11 with 8:17 to play in the first half on a Coe free throw.
 
The Warriors scored six of the next nine points on a pair of layups by Hailey Davis and a third by Kortney Ricke to lead 17-14 with 6:38 remaining in the half, but McPherson charged back with eight straight points to regain the lead at 22-17 as the Sterling was held scoreless for more than five minutes before Jordin Greer converted a layup with 1:35 to play. During the stretch, Sterling was 0-for-6 from the field and turned it over four times.
 
Greer followed that up with a 3-pointer with 34 seconds to play to send the game into the halftime break tied at 22.
 
Kiley Harris hit a pair of jumpers to open the second half, spurring a 9-0 run for the Warriors out of the halftime break. Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) finally got the Bulldogs on the board with a layup with 4:11 to play in the third quarter, but Kennedy Sokoloski answered with a three at the other end to make it 34-24 Sterling.
 
The Warriors scored six of the final 10 points in the quarter with Coe accounting for all four of McPherson's points to take a 40-28 advantage into the final quarter.
 
Brooke Zimmerman (Aurora, Colo., Western Nebraska CC) cut the lead back to 10 with a basket to open the fourth quarter, but Sterling rattled off seven in a row before Brooke Racette (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) hit a runner at the 7:43 mark. Racette forced a turnover a minute later, leading to a Coe layup to get the Bulldogs back within 13, but a three by Greer made it 50-36 with just over six minutes to play.
 
Isabella Bacon (Sapulpa, Okla., Sapulpa HS) drained a deep three with 3:30 to play to end a long scoring drought for both teams, but Sterling responded with six straight points to grow the lead to 17 with 94 seconds remaining. Coe scored McPherson's final six down the stretch but the Bulldogs were unable to build a rally as Sterling countered with a 3-pointer from Harris and a jumper from Greer.
 
The Warriors dominated the Bulldogs on the boards, finishing with a 37-22 advantage overall and a 12-3 edge on the offensive glass.
 
Sterling shot 54.2 percent (13-of-24) in the second half en route to 42.6 percent shooting overall. After not attempting a free throw in the first half, the visitors finished 9-of-10 at the line.
 
McPherson shot 41.5 percent (17-of-41) overall, but missed out on a number of extra chances due to their struggles on the boards. The Bulldogs were also just 2-of-16 from 3-point range, while the Warriors hit on six of 17 attempts.
 
Davis led three Warriors in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting. She added four rebounds and three assists.  Greer added 14 points, while Harris finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists a block and a steal.
 
Coe finished with a game-high 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting to lead McPherson. Richardson added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting but only four points came after halftime. She also had five assists, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Zimmerman had a team-high six rebounds for the Bulldogs.
 
"I thought we did a really good job defensively tonight," remarked head coach Gordon Reimer. "That first half, we were about as good as we could be defensively and we had the game tied. The game broke open early in the second half when we got five quick fouls on us and put them on the line. They were 7-of-8 from the stripe and that helped them break it open to a 10-point lead and then it was really difficult for us to get back into the game at that point."
 
McPherson takes to the road Thursday night for a game at 11th-ranked Tabor (7-3, 4-1 KCAC). Tipoff for the KCAC matchup is scheduled for 6 p.m.