Photo by Micah Gilbert
Bartlesville, Okla. – The McPherson College women's basketball team moved to 1-1 on the season, with a 78-69 loss to Bellevue University in the OKWU Classic.
The Bulldogs got another big performance from
Brittany Roberts (Jr. Mansfield, Texas), who poured in 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the floor, and grabbed 12 boards. Unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Bruins used some hot second half shooting to erase an 8 point halftime deficit and rally to defeat the Bulldogs by nine.
The Bulldogs trailed the Bruins, who were receiving votes in the NAIA top 25 preseason poll, by 2, 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. In the second half, they got their offense going, and outscored the Bruins by ten, 24-14, to lead 39-31 after 20 minutes of play.
In the second half, the Bruins started hitting shots from all over the floor, outscoring the Bulldogs 25 to 12 in the third quarter then 22-18 in the fourth to win 78-69. The Bulldogs did a much better job of taking care of the ball against the Bruins, cutting their turnovers by a third from the night before, to 14.
"I was really pleased with our performance tonight", said Bulldog head coach
Josh Nichols. "After a game like last night I wasn't sure how we would play. I'm never happy about a loss, but I'm pleased with the direction of our team." He went on to add, "Playing against a really good BU team that has national tournament experience we are trending in the right direction. Brittany had a monster game and we keep getting productively from other players as well."
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The Bulldogs will use the next week, to try and get some players healthy before taking to the hardwood again next weekend in their home opener against the Bacone College Warriors. The Bulldogs will host the Warriors at 6 p.m. on Friday as part of the McPherson Classic.
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