Both teams struggle but Tabor women get 70-56 win, men fall to McPherson 68-57
It wasn't pretty but the fifth-rated Tabor women picked up win number 20 Thursday night in McPherson, 70-56 over the Bulldogs.
Tabor jumped out to an early 18-1 lead but saw the Bulldogs steadily cut into the margin to trail 35-25 by halftime.
In the second half, McPherson got as close as seven at 40-33 before Tabor's depth carried them to a surprisingly difficult 14 point win.
Balanced scoring was the name of the game as Tabor had six players score at least nine points.
Stacie Herman, Donya Anderson and Emily Vogts all scored 10 points to lead the Bluejays while Kirsten Watson, Jill Hein and Erica Dechant added nine each.
Vogts completed the double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Tabor connected on just 38 percent from the field (23 of 61) including eight of 18 (44 percent) from the 3-point line.
The Bluejays fared well at the free throw stripe where they converted 16 of 21 (76 percent).
McPherson was led in scoring by Angelina Fiorenzi with 13 points as the Bulldogs hit 23 of 68 from the field (34 percent) but a frigid two of 14 (14 percent) from the 3-point line.
With their 17th straight win, Tabor is now 20-3 overall and 13-0 in conference play while McPherson falls to 1-12 and 3-17.
The Tabor men lost their battle with the Bulldogs 68-57 as lingering effects of the flu bug still persist for the Bluejays.
Tabor fell behind 32-17 with 6:35 to play in the first half but used a 17-3 spurt to close the half and cut the deficit to just a single point, 35-34 by halftime.
But the second half found McPherson employing a stingy zone defense that Tabor failed to solve, as the Bluejays were blanked from 3-point land in the half on 10 tries leading to the Tabor loss.
Brad Gattis scored 20 points to lead Tabor while Jared Reese added 10 points as Tabor hit just 24 of 58 from the field (41 percent) including four of 17 (23 percent) from the 3-point line.
The Bluejays also floundered from the free throw line, hitting five of 13 (38 percent).
McPherson was led by Tim Cox with 12 points as the Bulldogs connected on 21 of 57 from the field (37 percent) but killed the Tabor cause when they managed to sink nine of 21 (43 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
With the loss, Tabor is now 8-5 in KCAC play and falls to 11-11 overall.
McPherson improved to 12-11 and 5-8.
Tabor travels to Ottawa Saturday to battle the Braves with the women's game set to tip off at 5:00.
