McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The University of Saint Mary drained 10 3-pointers and forced 16 turnovers to turn away the McPherson College women's basketball team by a 72-56 score in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play Wednesday night at the Sport Center.
The Bulldogs (14-14, 10-11 KCAC) controlled the opening tip and immediately turned it into points as
Cami Richardson (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) put back a
Sonerka White (Houston, Texas, Eisenhower HS) miss. McPherson followed with two more baskets to build a 6-0 lead before the Spires (16-11, 13-8 KCAC) were able to get on the board with a Kelsey Switzer layup at the 7:55 mark. After a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes,
Brooklyn Coe (Corvallis, Ore., Chemeketa CC) converted a fastbreak opportunity to push the lead back to six points.
Saint Mary outscored McPherson, 10-5, the rest of the quarter to cut the deficit to just one at 13-12 headed to the second frame.
The Spires grabbed their first lead of the game at the 9:13 mark of the second quarter when Ashley Hinkle drained a 3-pointer - one of her four in the contest. The Bulldogs momentarily retook the lead, but another USM 3-pointer - this one from Candy De Los Reyes - put the Spires back out in front. A basket by Coe with 3:17 to play tied the game at 23-all, but De Los Reyes hit a free throw and Hinkle drained another triple to give Saint Mary a lead it would not relinquish.
USM led 31-25 at the break, then outscored McPherson, 30-16, in the third quarter alone to take a 20-point lead into the final quarter. De Los Reyes scored 10 points in the quarter, while Hinkle added seven and Sienna Brown had six as the Spires hit 11 of 19 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. McPherson was 6-of-16 in the frame, led by six from White.
The visitors from Leavenworth pushed the lead to 22 points in the early stages of the fourth quarter and left the door open for a McPherson comeback by shooting just 5-of-22 from the field, but the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize. McPherson used a 9-0 run to cut the USM advantage to 13 points while keeping the Spires scoreless for nearly five minutes but could get no closer.
McPherson shot 33.3 percent (21-of-63) overall and was 78.6 percent (11-of-14) at the line, but was just 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc. The Bulldogs did win the battle on the boards, 49-46, but were hurt by 16 turnovers. USM shot 33.8 percent (26-of-77) overall but connected on 10 of 30 chances from behind the arc. The Spires committed just seven turnovers.
Playing in her final home game in the Red and White, Coe tallied 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting. One of three Bulldogs in double figures, she also pulled down four rebounds and had a pair of assists. White added 15 points with three 3-pointers and seven rebounds, while
Brittany Roberts (Mansfield, Texas, Lake Ridge HS) had 10 points. Richardson scored just six points but posted game-highs with 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Danielle Holt (Glenpool, Okla., Glenpool HS) added three points, seven boards and four assists off the bench.
De Los Reyes led four Spires in double figures with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Hinkle finished with 13 points and four assists, while Brown had 10 points and eight boards. Tiani White hit three 3-pointers en route to 15 points and three assists off the bench.
Despite Wednesday's loss, McPherson clinched a spot in next week's KCAC Women's Basketball Tournament due to a loss by Ottawa at Friends.
The Bulldogs close out the regular season Saturday evening with a trip to North Newton, Kansas, to face Bethel College. The Threshers (11-18, 7-14 KCAC) have won back-to-back games and are coming off a 63-46 win over (RV) Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Wednesday. The junior varsity contest tips at 12:45 p.m., while the varsity takes to the court at 5 p.m. at Thresher Gymnasium.
