Photo by Micah Gilbert
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in the Sport Center on Wednesday night to University of St. Mary 73-69.
It was an up and down night for the Bulldogs that saw shoot over 50% from the floor in the first half, but then just 21% in the final 20 minutes. They outscored the Spires 24-22 in the first quarter and then played dead even in the second to lead 46-44, after a buzzer beating, half-court shot by Danielle Holt (Sr. Glenpool, Okla.).
 Neither team shot the ball well in the third quarter, but the Spires outscored the Bulldogs 14 to 9 to take the lead by 3, 58-55. The shooting struggles continued in the final quarter and the Spires extended their lead to four by winning the period 15-14. The Bulldogs were trailing the Spires by two, but had the ball with eight seconds on the clock. After a timeout, they got Britney Jarvis (Jr. Imperial, Calif.) a good look at a game winning three pointer, but it rimmed out. The Bulldogs fouled with less than a second, and the Spires made both free throws to make the final margin four as the clock hit zeros.
Brittany Roberts (Jr. Mansfield, Texas) led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 points. She also added 15 boards to her stat line to record her 19th double double of the season. Also in double figures were Maison Moseley (So. Woodward, Okla.), with 11, and Holt with 10.
"Unfortunately when we shot the ball well we could defend well enough and when our defense played well our shots didn't fall," commented Bulldog head coach Josh Nichols. He added, "Brittany and Dani left if all on floor tonight very proud of them. Taylor Osborn gave us a boost from 3 tonight as well. We have to find a way to regroup for Wednesday."
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 11-13 overall, and 7-11 in KCAC play. They will be back on the hardwood Saturday when they go on the road to tangle with the 19th ranked Sterling College Warriors. Tip-off in Sterling is slated for 5 p.m.
MAC (69) – Roberts (18), Moseley (11), Holt (10), Osborn (6), Hurst (6), Upchurch (6), Branscum (4), Jarvis (3), Gillen (3), Griffin (2).
