Photo by Jakob Komel
McPherson, Kan. – For the fourth year in a row, the Mayor's Cup trophy will stay with the McPherson College women's basketball team. The Bulldogs won the annual crosstown rivalry game over Central Christian College 76-43.
After the Bulldogs split a pair technical free throws to start the game, for a pre-game infraction involving the official scorebook, the Tigers jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead. The Bulldogs quickly settled in, and rallied to lead at the end of the first quarter 22-10.
The second quarter didn't go according to plan for the Bulldogs. Some sloppy play on both ends of the floor allowed the Tigers to stay within striking distance. At the end of the half, the Bulldogs led by 13, 36-23.
The Bulldogs regrouped during the intermission, and came out of the locker room with a renewed purpose in their play. They were much sharper on both sides of the ball, and they extended their lead over the Tigers to 58-30 at the end of the third quarter.
In the final ten minutes of action, Coach Nichols was able to get his bench players some valuable minutes. They extended their lead, outscoring the Tigers in the final period, 18-13 to finish with a 33 point victory.
Key Statistic
The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 47-21 in the paint. The Tigers were quick and athletic at all five spots on the floor, but they didn't have the size down low to stop the Bulldogs inside.
 By the Numbers
It was not a particularly good shooting night for the Bulldogs, who shot 36% from the floor, and 27% from behind the arc.
Defensively they held the Tigers to 26% from the floor and just 19% from deep.
The Bulldogs dominated the glass, out rebounding the visitors 54-38.
The MC defense forced the Tigers into 24 turnovers which the offense turned into 15 points. The Bulldogs had 15 miscues, but the CCC ladies failed to turn any of them into points.
Brittany Roberts had another monster night with 25 points, 24 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Bulldog Leaders
Points: Brittany Roberts (25)
Rebounds: Brittany Roberts (24)
Assists: TiJanae' Simmons (6)
Steals: Brittany Roberts, TiJanae' Simmons, Dy'Mond McElrath (3)
Blocks: Ja'Kia Wells (4)
Coach Quote
"Well I kind of feel like we were sleep walking through the first half. Just a little sloppy on both ends unfortunately. We had a much better second half and played with a lot more energy. Brittany was outstanding as always, and we got some contributions from a lot of different players tonight which was good. We still need work putting a solid 40 minutes of basketball together." – Coach Nichols
 Next Up
 The Bulldogs move to 3-0 on the year and will take that perfect record into Saturday's matchup with the Peru State College Bobcats on their home floor. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 pm in Peru, Nebraska.   Â
