by HILLSBORO, Kan. Hosting one of the conference’s hottest teams in (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University, the Bluejays knew they would have to be ready to play a full 40 minutes on Saturday. Tabor was impressive throughout the entire game, coming away with the 58-48 win.
It was Tabor’s defensive effort that helped the Bluejays settle in at the start of the contest. After coming up empty on their first five possessions, Tabor was only down 2-0 behind a strong defensive effort over the first two and a half minutes of play. A steal by Braxtyn Stewart (SR/Emporia, Kan.) led to a Kassidy Beam (FR/McPherson, Kan.) three-point basket, giving Tabor the 3-2 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
An Amanda Hill jumper at the 6:41 mark of the opening frame would be the last lead (4-3) that the Bluejays would surrender in the game. Sammy Jo Peterson (SR/Cottonwood Falls, Kan.)’s triple with 4:21 left in the first gave Tabor the lead (6-4) for good. Tabor’s reserves would score 10 of the Bluejays 13 points in the opening period, giving the home team a 13-7 lead after one quarter of play.
KWU would score the first four points of the second period to close back to within two points (13-11), before Tabor’s offense once again picked up the pace. Alyvia Owens (FR/Hutchinson, Kan.) started a Tabor run with a bucket down low. Counting Owens’ basket, Tabor outscored Kansas Wesleyan 17-2 from the 6:32 mark down to just 23 seconds left in the half. Kasey Rice (Pawnee Nation) led the Bluejays during that stretch, scoring eight points, including two made shots from beyond the arc. Leading 30-13 with just five seconds left before halftime, the Coyotes found a three of their own to cut the Tabor lead to 14 points (30-16) at the intermission.
The third period started slow for both teams as Tabor scored just three points over the first five minutes of play. The Coyotes offense wasn’t any better, scoring just one bucket over the first half of the third quarter. Over the next four plus minutes KWU would outscore Tabor 9-2, cutting the Bluejay lead back to single digits (35-27) with 1:47 to go in the period.
A 6-1 run to end the quarter gave the Bluejays some much needed breathing room to end the quarter. Good shooting from the foul line aided Tabor during the run, going a perfect 4-4 from the stripe and giving Tabor the 41-28 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.
Tabor maintained their 13 point lead to start the fourth quarter. Laney Swink (SR/Fort Gibson, Okla.)’s three-point shot gave Tabor their biggest cushion of the quarter at 46-30, putting the Bluejays in firm control of the contest. Kansas Wesleyan wouldn’t go away quietly, trimming the lead back to 13 points with just under two minutes to play.
With the shot clock winding down, Zoe Shieldnight (SR/Gore, Okla.)’s three as the buzzer sounded put the Bluejays ahead 53-37, and the game out of reach, with just over a minute to play. Tabor converted enough free throws (5-8) down the stretch to come away with the hard fought 58-48 victory.
Tabor was led in scoring by Kasey Rice with 14 points. She was the only player in double figures for the Bluejays. Rice tied with Zoe Shieldnight for a team high six rebounds. Braxtyn Stewart handed out a team leading four assists on the night.
The Bluejays forced 21 Coyote turnovers while only giving it away nine times in the game. Both teams made 18 field goals. Tabor made four more three’s and also went 16-21 from the foul line. The Bluejays held the much bigger Coyote team to only six offensive boards while grabbing eight of their own.
Head Coach Shawn Reed was very pleased with the effort he saw. “It was a very good win over a talented and experienced KWU squad” replied Reed. “I thought we were able to take advantage of our depth and our defensive effort was superb. Hinz, Hill and Mureeba are three fantastic offensive players and you are never going to shut them down completely but I felt we made them work for their buckets.”
Reed identified some individual efforts as keys in the game. “Kasey Rice had another fantastic game off the bench for us and she continues to make great strides forward. I thought our post players did a good job of battling Hinz inside while our guards worked hard to limit KWU’s three-point shots on the perimeter.”
The win pushes Tabor’s overall mark to 8-2, while their KCAC record improves to 5-1
