McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College women's basketball team improved to 2-0 overall with a 67-63 victory over (RV) Bellevue University on the opening night of the McPherson Classic Friday evening at the Sport Center.
The Bulldogs trailed 21-17 after one quarter and 44-31 at the break but outscored the Bruins, 36-19, in the second half to come away with the victory.
Bellevue took its biggest lead of 13 points with just under one minute to play in the second quarter after Elexis Martinez scored in the paint.
Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) nailed a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to cut the lead back to 10 but was answered by a 3-pointer from Angeliece Tucker just before the halftime buzzer.
In the third quarter, McPherson began to chip away at the lead. An 8-0 Bulldog run powered by five points from
Sonerka White (Houston, Texas, Eisenhower HS) cut the deficit to four with just 1:16 left. The teams traded baskets in the paint to send the game to the final quarter with Bellevue holding a 52-48 lead.
White opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run by herself to put McPherson ahead 55-52. The Bruins responded with four straight free throws to retake the lead only to see
Danielle Holt (Glenpool, Okla., Glenpool HS) score three straight points to turn the score back in the Bulldogs' favor. Holt added two more free throws to give McPherson a 60-57 lead just past the halfway mark of the quarter, but Bellevue would not quit. Baskets by Martinez and Taylor Cormier put the Bruins back ahead by one, but as the clock ticked under 2:00,
Kristina Battle (Houston, Texas, Austin HS) put the Bulldogs on her back, scoring two big buckets to put McPherson up for good.
Caletria Curtis made it a one-point game inside the final minute, but
Brooklyn Coe (Corvallis, Ore., Chemeketa CC) and Battle were able to combine for three free throws while Holt recorded a steal to seal the victory.
White led all players in scoring with 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting. She also pulled down three rebounds and had a pair of steals. Holt chipped in with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals, while Battle had nine points, five boards, an assist and a block.
Richardson and
Brooke Racette (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) both made up for poor shooting nights by filling the other columns on the stat sheet. Richardson finished with five points on just 1-of-9 shooting but had four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Racette was 2-of-12 from the field - both 3-pointers - to finish with six points, but had team-highs in both rebounds (nine) and assists (four). Coe added five points, five boards and two assists.
Ryleigh McCartney led Bellevue with 15 points and five rebounds, while Martinez had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks. Cormier was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10.
Bellevue out-shot McPherson, 38.6 percent to 31.4 percent, but after shooting a blistering 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the first half, the Bruins fell off in the second half, hitting just six of 31 attempts (19.3 percent) overall and going 0-of-7 from behind the arc. The Bulldogs steadily improved their shooting through out the game. After going 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) in the first quarter, McPherson shot 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) in the fourth quarter to finish at 31.4 percent (22-of-70) overall.
The Bulldogs will face Haskell Indian Nations University (0-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon as the McPherson Classic concludes. Bellevue (3-1) tackles Bethel (2-1) at noon in the day's opening game. The Threshers outlasted the Indians, 58-54, in overtime on Friday to kick off the event.
