Bartlesville, Okla. – The McPherson College women's basketball team took down nationally ranked and KCAC No. 3 Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Thursday 73-71.
The first quarter went about as expected. The three-point happy Eagles took 20 total shots, 14 from deep and scored 23. MC played a very solid opening period and trailed by just four, 23-19; the Bulldogs made an impressive 60% from the floor in the first 10 minutes. In the second, both teams had difficulties putting points on the scoreboard. Oklahoma Wesleyan went 3-of-19 from the field and 0-of-13 from behind the arc. The Bulldogs held OKWU to just seven points and scored 11 of their own to put the score at 30-30 at halftime. McPherson dropped in 3-of-27 from the floor but went 0-of-5 from three; they converted on 4-of-8 from the stripe. The Eagles made just 11-of-39 from the floor and a very poor 5-of-27 from range; they were 3-of-4 from the line. In the very up-tempo half, the 'Dogs tallied 17 turnovers but did have nine assists.
The shooting woes continued for OKWU in the second half and McPherson used a few big defensive stops to take a 56-45 lead into the game's final quarter. In the final period, the Bulldogs were working the clock but Oklahoma Wesleyan started to hit some shots late to tighten things up. The game got as close as two but some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped the Lady 'Dogs hold on for the 73-71 victory. Mac went 13-of-24 from the floor with 2-of-5 three-point buckets; they made 5-of-21 from the stripe. The Eagles improved their overall shooting with an 11-of-24 showing but were just 5-of-19 from downtown; they netted 14-of-20 free throws.
McPherson ended the night with a 51.0 shooting percentage, dropping in 26-of-51 from the floor and 2-of-10 from distance; they were 19-of-29 from the line. The team pulled in 44 total rebounds with 14 being offensive boards; they also had 31 turnovers, 16 assists, nine steals, and a whopping six blocks. 54 points came in the paint for the Bulldogs.
Ashton Bruner led all scoring with her 23 points on 8-of-12 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws; the senior also had a team-high nine rebounds. Bailey Brown dropped in 4-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the line for her 17; she too had nine boards. Brooke Racette drained 5-of-7 from the field and both of her free throws for 13 points. The final double-digit scoring Bulldog was Amanda Allen who went 6-of-9 for 12 points; she had five boards along with three blocks.
MC will get the weekend off as their next contest isn't until February 18th when they travel to Sterling College for a 6:00 p.m. (CT) showdown with the Warriors.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
