TC women rebound with 64-48 trouncing of Bethany, but men fall in OT

Written by Andrew Ottoson

Thursday, 18 January 2007

Bouncing back from Saturday's streak-ending home loss, Tabor went on the road and won to keep a share of the top spot in the KCAC. The Tabor College women's basketball team had the better part of a week to mull over the 17-point loss Sterling handed them last Saturday. On Thursday night, Tabor played at Bethany College and the Bluejays put together a determined effort on the block and blasted the Swedes with basket after basket in the lane. Behind the post play of Emily Vogts and Donya Anderson, Tabor never trailed in this one-but in the early going, Bethany made enough 2- and 3- point shots to keep the game close. Vogts and Anderson scored Tabor's first 11 points; Erin Runge became the third Bluejay to score when she gave the visitors a 13-8 lead. Bethany quickly scored two long 2- point jumpers after Runge's bucket at 11:36, but Stephanie Silvas and Stacie Herman scored short-range 2-pointers 0:21 apart. The burst broke into a 12-3 run in Tabor's favor as Vogts, Anderson and Herman all scored again in rapid succession. Vogts capped the run at 3:37 and gave the Bluejays a 10-point lead. The halftime score was 31-21, and Tabor blew the game wide open at the beginning of the second period. Anderson scored at 18:36, and the next three scores went to Herman: a layup at 18:12, a short 2-pointer and a 3-point shot at 15:52. By the time Herman's spurt was over, Tabor had a 19 point lead and Bethany was running on fumes. The lead led to playing time for every Bluejay who dressed for the game. Chelsea Malone, who missed time earlier this season with a shoulder injury, was not in uniform. Anderson led the team in scoring with 16 points, followed by Vogts, who finished with 13. Both forwards had nine rebounds. Herman finished with 11 points. As a team, Tabor grabbed a decisive 42-24 rebounding advantage. Bethany forward Trisha Dietz led all scoreres with 17 points, including a 5-of-8 performance from beyond the arc. The men's game went to overtime when a set play called during a time-out with under a minute to go broke down and Tyler Weinbrenner beat an expiring shot clock with a left-wing bank shot from 25 feet out for a 66-64 lead. But Bethany scored a layup at the other end a moment later to tie the game. Mike Stoecker received a pass deep in the left corner and, blanketed by a Swede, appeared to have turned the ball over to a Bethany defender with 2.3 seconds to go. But instead of being awarded a timeout, the defender was whistled for traveling. The overtime ticked away quickly as the teams traded scores. Down 74-72, Stoecker fouled out to stop the clock after Andy Brubacher just missed tying the game with 8.9 seconds to go. Bethany missed the ensuing free throw, but came up with the loose ball to effectively end the game with 7.9 seconds to go. Tabor's only chance was to deny the inbounds pass or to force an immediate turnover. The inbounds play instead resulted in a foul, and Austan Wyatt buried the free throws to make it a four point game. Needing a minor miracle-a made 3-pointer and a bonus free throw-Tabor inbouned the ball to Weinbrenner, who wove across midcourt and spun into a defender at the top of the key while firing a desperation lob as the game ended. The final score was 76-72, Bethany. Tabor's next games are at home against Bethel on Saturday. The women (8-1) tip off at 5 p.m. and the men (4-5) are slated to start at 7.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 January 2007 )

 

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