Wichita, Kan. – The McPherson College women's basketball team saw their most recent winning streak end on Saturday evening, as they fell, on the road, to the Friends University Falcons, 74-63.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the first quarter, racing out to a six point lead, 21-15 as the period expired. In the second quarter, the Falcons turned the tables on the Bulldogs and came back to take a six point lead of their own, mid-way through the period. The Bulldogs responded to the 12 point swing by the home team, by finishing the quarter on a 10-3 run to take back the lead 36-35 heading into the break.
The third quarter was the downfall for the Bulldogs. The Falcons came out of the break on fire, while the Bulldogs' offense went flat. The Falcons ended up running away with the quarter 18-7, and the one point lead the Bulldogs held at the intermission, had turned into a 10 point deficit, just 10 minutes later. In the final period, the Mac ladies found their form again offensively, but they were unable to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard. The Falcons won the final period 21-20, to stretch their lead to 11, 74-63.
Statistically, the Bulldogs and Falcons were fairly even. The Falcons shot 40% from the floor, while the Bulldogs were at 38%. From behind the 3 point arc, the Bulldogs held the advantage, shooting 29% while the Falcons were at 20%. At the charity stripe, the Falcons were nearly perfect, going 19 for 20, while the Bulldogs were 14 of 17. On the glass, the Bulldogs on the rebounding battle 40 to 35, but where they struggled, was taking care of the ball. The Mac ladies coughed up the ball 33 times, which the Falcons turned into 32 points. The Bulldogs in turn forced 23 the Falcons into 23 miscues, turning them into 15 points.
Brittany Roberts (So. Mansfield, Texas) had a monster game for the Bulldogs, despite the loss. She finished the night as the Bulldogs' leading scorer with 19 points, and set a new record for rebounds in program history with 19. The only other Bulldog to score in double figures was Ellie Gillen (Jr. Castle Rock, Colo.), came off the bench to score 11.
"Turn overs killed us," said Bulldog head coach
Josh Nichols. "It was a game of runs and Friends made the last run. Their runs usually coincided with our turn overs." Nichols did see some positives, saying "We did a lot really good things and I thought we played well enough to get the win, but you can't give the ball away 33 times. A big positive was Elle [Gillen], she had a solid game along with Brittany [Roberts].
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 2-6 in the KCAC, and 7-6 overall. They will be back on the road again next Wednesday in a match up with intra-county rival, Bethany College. The Bulldogs and Swedes will tipoff in Hahn Gymnasium Wednesday at 6:00 pm.
MC (63) – Roberts (19), Gillen (11), Tims (7), DeLuca (7), Holt (6), Mikulski (6), Osborn (3), Branscum (2), Potter (2).
