McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) ---
Danielle Holt (Glenpool, Okla., Glenpool HS) scored on a layup with 6.7 seconds remaining to give the McPherson College women's basketball team a 55-54 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory over York College Saturday afternoon at the Sport Center.
Seconds earlier, Greer Kleber had drained a 3-pointer to give York (1-25, 1-19 KCAC) its first lead since early in the second quarter. McPherson (13-15, 8-12 KCAC) immediately called a timeout to advance the ball into the frontcourt. Once the ball was put back in play,
Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) spotted Holt streaking along the baseline toward the hoop and fired off a high pass that Holt collected before converting the layup. The Panthers had one final possession, but the Bulldogs forced a turnover with just 0.5 seconds left.
Brooke Racette (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) hit a long jumper just inside the 3-point line off the opening tip to give McPherson the first lead of the game. York scored the next six points to surge into the lead, but McPherson rallied with a 7-2 run capped by back-to-back baskets by
Brooke Zimmerman (Aurora, Colo., Western Nebraska CC) to take a 9-8 lead with 2:25 left in the opening quarter. York responded with the final six points of the frame as Justine Manjarrez drained a pair of 3-pointers to give the Panthers a 15-9 lead at the quarter break.
McPherson surged back, outscoring York, 17-5, in the second quarter to lead 26-19 at halftime. The Panthers were held to just 2-of-15 shooting from the field in the quarter, while the Bulldogs were 7-of-13. Richardson had six points in the frame.
Baskets by Holt and Racette to start the second half extended the McPherson lead to 11 points. York was able to chip away at the lead over the course of the quarter, cutting it to two points on a 3-pointer by Mackenzie Grauberger with 1:31 to play, but a layup by Brooklyn Coe with 25 seconds left gave the Bulldogs a 40-36 advantage headed to the final quarter.
The Panthers used an 8-4 run over the first 4:13 of the fourth quarter to erase the deficit, but could not keep the momentum. McPherson rattled off six in a row, including a couple of baskets by Emma Van Donselaar, to lead 50-44 with 3:22 left. The Bulldogs maintained a five-point lead two minutes later after a Coe layup made it 53-48 with 1:11 to play, but Jacqueline Esquivel and Kleber knocked down 3-pointers to put the Panthers up by one, setting up the final sequence.
McPherson shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57), but struggled from behind the arc where the Bulldogs hit just two of 12 shots. York made just 18 field goals and shot 29.5 percent (18-of-61) from the field, but more than half of both their makes (10) and attempts (31) came from 3-point range. McPherson held a slim 42-37 advantage on the boards.
Coe led all players with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting and tallied five boards and three steals. Richardson continued her practice of filling nearly every line on the stat sheet, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and a pair of blocked shots. Racette had seven points and four rebounds, while
Kristina Battle (Houston, Texas, Austin HS) and Zimmerman scored six points apiece. Battle added five boards and a pair of assists and Zimmerman chipped in with six rebounds and a steal. Holt finished with just four points but did have a game-high seven rebounds despite being limited to less than 15:00 of court time due to early foul trouble.
Esquivel led York with 11 points and four assists, while Kleber and Manjarrez had eight points each off the bench. Wilson had five points and tied Holt for game-high honors with seven rebounds.
The victory allows McPherson to keep pace with Oklahoma Wesleyan (13-15, 9-11 KCAC) and Southwestern (13-15, 9-11 KCAC) for one of the final two spots in the KCAC tournament field. Up next for the Bulldogs is a date with (RV) Ottawa (16-12, 12-8 KCAC) on Thursday, Feb. 16, in the final road game of the regular season. McPherson closes the regular season with a Senior Day matchup with the Moundbuilders on Saturday, Feb. 18. The Bulldogs own a 52-42 victory over the Braves from Jan. 7 in McPherson, but fell to Southwestern, 73-63, in Winfield on Jan. 12.
