McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) ---
Sonerka White (Houston, Texas, Eisenhower HS) scored a game-high 23 points off the bench to lead the McPherson College women's basketball team to a 62-52 victory in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play Saturday night at the Sport Center.
After a scoreless spell lasting nearly two minutes to open the game,
Emma Van Donselaar (Shawnee, Kan., Shawnee Mission West HS) scored to give the Bulldogs (12-11, 8-8 KCAC) the early lead. The Warriors (14-9, 11-5 KCAC) battled back, scoring nine of the next 12 points to take a 9-5 lead with 3:55 left in the opening frame. McPherson responded though, tying the game at 11 less than a minute later on a White 3-pointer. After conceding a layup to Alexis Theus,
Brooke Zimmerman (Aurora, Colo., Western Nebraska CC) hit back-to-back baskets and
Kristina Battle (Houston, Texas, Austin HS) sank a free throw to give the Bulldogs a 16-13 lead after one quarter.
McPherson scored the first four points of a slow-moving second quarter to build the lead to seven with 5:53 left in the half. Sterling was able to rally, taking advantage of three Bulldog turnovers and a couple of errant 3-pointers to tie the game at 20 when Theus completed an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 3:12 mark. The Warriors were unable to regain the lead as the Bulldogs closed out the half on a 5-1 run capped by a basket and free throw from Battle with 19 seconds left to lead 25-21 at the break.
Van Donselaar again provide the ice-breaker in the second half, extending the McPherson lead to six, but Sterling rallied for the next five points to get within one at 27-26. The Bulldogs followed with a 12-1 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by
Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) to make it a 12-point game. McPherson was able to maintain a double-digit lead down the stretch, taking a 44-34 advantage into the final quarter.
Playing the final quarter without all-KCAC guard Kylah Comley due to an injury, Sterling outscored McPherson, 18-10, over the first seven minutes of the frame. A second-chance layup by Jessica Princ with 3:04 left in the game drew the Warriors within two at 54-52, but Sterling would be shut out the rest of the way. White drained a 3-pointer and
Brooklyn Coe (Corvallis, Ore., Chemeketa CC) followed with a layup to give the Bulldogs breathing room, while a trio of free throws provided the final margin.
McPherson held a 37-32 advantage on the boards and shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) overall. The Bulldogs also drained seven 3-pointers in the contest. Sterling shot 32.7 percent (18-of-55) from the field but just 14.8 percent (4-of-27) from 3-point range.
White reached her point total on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. She also had three rebounds and a pair of steals. Richardson added 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, a team-high seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Coe chipped in with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and Battle had six points.
Princ led Sterling with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. She also pulled down six rebounds and had three assists. Greer added 11 points and Theus nine, while Comley finished six points and a game-high 10 rebounds before leaving the game with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs hope an emerging trend continues - at least for one more game - when they host No. 22 Friends University (16-7, 14-2 KCAC) Wednesday evening at the Sport Center. To this point in the second half of the KCAC schedule, every McPherson result has been the opposite of the initial outing. The Bulldogs were clipped by the Falcons, 53-52, in Wichita on Dec. 6, meaning a victory would be in order for Wednesday.
Friends, winners of seven in a row, currently leads the rest of the KCAC by a full three games with just six to play. The Falcons are just 8-6 away from the Garvey Center. McPherson, currently sporting a 10-2 record at home, sits in the eighth-and-final qualifying spot for the KCAC Tournament - one back of Bethany and Saint Mary (both 9-7) and three games clear of Ottawa and Southwestern (both 5-11). Tipoff from the Sport Center is slated for 6 p.m.
