by HILLSBORO, Kan. Tabor headed into the matchup with McPherson looking to avenge an earlier KCAC loss at the hands of the Bulldogs, as well as earn their third two game winning streak of the season. The Bluejays would accomplish both as they dominated the visitors by a final score of 82-51.
McPherson ended with the same total (51) as the previous matchup, but the Bluejay offense posted 33 more points (81) in the game this time around in the win.
Senior Kyli Burns (SR/Valley Center, Kan.) set the tone for the Bluejays offense early in the contest, scoring Tabor’s first four points. Hannah Gilmore (JR/Cedaredge, Colo.) provided a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor. Gilmore scored six of her 10 points in the opening period, helping Tabor to a 15-9 lead after one quarter of play.
Gilmore picked up in the second where she left off in the first, putting Tabor on the board first during the second 10 minutes of play. Lilly Schamberger (SO/Hoxie, Kan.) hit the first of three buzzer beaters during the second period for the Bluejays. Schamberger took a Terran Hoyt (SR/Eureka, Kan.) pass and cashed in a three from the right wing, putting Tabor up 21-14 with 5:15 left in the first half.
Zoe Shieldnight (SO/Gore, Okla.) continued Tabor’s buzzer beating offense as she scored a two-point bucket with just 35 seconds left in the half just before the shot clock went off. Not to be outdone, Kasey Rice (Pawnee Nation) scored a layup at the half to beat the halftime buzzer and Tabor was on their way, leading 34-19 at the break.
Our defense was solid in the first half outside of the fact that we fouled too much” said Head Coach Shawn Reed. “We did a great job of keeping Mac off the offensive glass and we held them to 25% shooting from the field.”
Offensively, Coach Reed was pleased as well. “We did a good job of handling McPherson’s press, which led to some easier transition baskets. We also shot pretty well from behind the three-point line.”
The second half started like the game began with a McPherson bucket early. Sammy Jo Peterson (JR/Cottonwood Falls, Kan.) responded with a hard drive to the basket where she was fouled and sent to the free throw line. Peterson was good on both attempts. The Bulldogs would try and fight back, scoring six of the next eight points in the contest.
Tabor would use a 19-5 run to end the third period. Tabor used a number of players and hit shots from all over the floor during the run to keep the Bulldogs defense on its heels. Shieldnight and Hoyt both nailed two shots from deep, while Laney Swink (SO/Fort Gibson, Okla.) scored four points off the bench. Starters Peterson and Wiebe also contributed during the final stretch of the third.
Rice kept the Bluejay three-point shooting hot as she nailed her first two attempts in the final period, extending Tabor’s lead to 33 points at 65-32. Several Bluejays contributed offensively over the last 10 minutes, including Schamberger’s six points in the quarter. Kiikto Thomas (Potawotomi) came off the bench, chipping in five points in the quarter.
Reed was pleased with his team’s second half effort as well. “We continued to rebound well. We were able to play extremely well at the offensive end by shooting 58% from the field and 53% from behind the arc to extend our lead and put the game away.”
The Bluejays had four players in double figuring scoring (Shieldnight 15, Schamberger 11, Rice 10, Gilmore 10) for the first time this season. “It was awesome to have four different players reach double figures” commented Reed. “We had balanced scoring and did a great job rebounding and taking care of the basketball.”
“McPherson is a very talented and physical team that defeated us earlier this year. I felt very good about our energy, effort and pace tonight. It was a great team win!”
The win pulls Tabor’s KCAC record to 9-5 and their overall record to 10-8. Tabor is just two games out of second place in the conference race.
