ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
The Tabor Bluejay women captured their first KCAC title since 1992 with a 64-50 win over the Sterling Warriors Thursday night in Hillsboro before a packed house.
The 9th ranked Bluejay women trailed by as many as 7 points in the first half before streaking to a 35-25 halftime lead.
16th ranked Sterling asserted themselves as any defending champion would to cut the Tabor lead to just two points with 10:06 to play, but the Bluejays finished the game on an 18-6 scoring run to capture the 64-50 win.
Donya Anderson led the Bluejays with 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Erica Hemmert had 14 points, Stacie Herman 12 and Jill Hein 10.
With their 18th straight win, Tabor’s record improves to 23-4 overall and 16-1 in conference play.
The 25th ranked Tabor men trailed Sterling 26-24 at halftime but quickly built a 38-30 lead in the second half then held on down the stretch to claim a 53-48 slugfest victory over Sterling.
Martin de Boer led Tabor with 18 points as the Bluejays hit 45.8 percent from the field but converted just 6 of 17 free throws (35.3 percent) in the game.
With their 9th straight win, Tabor is assured of at least a tie for the KCAC championship pending Saturday’s game at home with the Ottawa Braves.
Tabor is now 19-8 overall and 13-4 in the KCAC.
Bluejays sweep pair from Warriors
