Photo by Jakob Komel
McPherson, Kan. – After the heartbreak of surrendering a 10 point lead in the final two minutes of Saturday's game at Oklahoma Wesleyan, the McPherson College women's basketball team bounced back on Monday with a 78-73 win at home against the Ottawa University Braves.
The Bulldogs lead after the first quarter of action 15-14, but were out-scored in the second quarter 22-16 to go into the break trailing the Braves 36-31.
Out of the locker room at halftime, the Braves carried their first half momentum into the start of the third quarter. At the 3:13 mark in the period, five point halftime deficit had ballooned out to 14 points.
Over the course of the final three minutes of the third quarter, the Bulldogs began chipping away at the Braves' lead, and by the end of the period, they had whittled the lead back down to four points, 59-55.
The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, to tie the game at 59, but they couldn't get over the hump to retake the lead. The Braves responded with a 10-5 run to push the lead back out to five, 69-64 with 5:37 remaining. Over the next four minutes of action, the Bulldogs went on a 10-2 run to finally retake the lead 72-70.
With less than 30 seconds left on the clock, the Braves had the ball, trailing the Bulldogs 76-73. Laheerah Joseph, came up with a huge block on the Braves' drive to the basket and the ball went out of bounds off of the Braves. Ottawa was forced to foul, and Dy'mond McElrath, split a pair of free throws, putting the Bulldogs up 77-73, essentially icing the game.
The Braves got a shot off on their next possession, but the three point attempt missed and Brittany Roberts secured the rebound. She was fouled and she made one of two of her free throws, making the final score 78-73.
Key Statistic
The Bulldogs dominated the paint out-scoring the Braves 58-43 inside.
By the Numbers
The Bulldogs shot 43% from the floor, making 27 of 65 attempts, but were just 2 of 14 (14%) from beyond the three point arc.
From the free throw line they were 22-33 (67%).
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by a monster night from Brittany Roberts who had 25 points including 10 of 14 from the charity stripe.
MC won the turnover battle 15-16, and out-rebounded the Braves 41-34.
Bulldog Leaders
Points: Brittany Roberts (25)
Rebounds: Brittany Roberts (20)
Assists: Dy'mond McElrath (7)
Steals: Brittany Roberts (2)
Blocks: Four Bulldogs (1)
Coaches Quote:
"Really good win tonight! We were in the same situation we were in at OKWU, but we executed much better. Big contributions from Kia, KB, and Lala on the inside. Britt had a much better game and Dy'mond and Madelyn came up big too." – Coach Nichols
 Next Up:
With the win, the Bulldogs are now 8-5 on the year and 5-4 in KCAC play. They will be back on the hardwood on Friday and Saturday of this week, traveling to St. Louis, Mo. to take part in a holiday tournament hosted by the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. The Bulldogs play Williams Baptist University on Friday and then finish the weekend playing the host school on Saturday. Â
