ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
On one of the coldest night’s of the season outdoors, the fourth-rated Tabor women turned in their hottest night of the season indoors, scorching the University of Saint Mary 96-56 in Leavenworth.
Tabor raced out to a 50-30 lead by halftime and never looked back as five Bluejays reached double digit scoring.
Emily Vogts led the way with 17 but had plenty of help as Erica Hemmert scored 16, Erica Dechant added 11 and both Stacie Herman and Katie Fast contributed 10.
Dawn Walker led the Spires with 20 points.
The Bluejays hit an incredible 60 percent from the field (33 of 55) including an even more incredible nine of 12 (75 percent) from the 3-point line and added a 21 of 23 performance (91 percent) from the free throw line.
Saint Mary struggled from the field against the nationally rated Tabor defense, hitting 19 of 59 attempts (32 percent) and just four of 19 (21 percent) from the 3-point line.
Tabor also dominated the Spires on the boards, hauling in 45 rebounds (Hemmert led the way with eight) compared to just 23 for the hometown Spires.
Hemmert also led the Bluejays in steals and assists with four in each category.
With their 21st straight victory, the Bluejays are now 24-3 for the season and remain perfect in the KCAC at 17-0.
Saint Mary falls to 4-23 overall and 3-14 in the conference.
The Tabor College men broke a painful five game losing streak with a 72-56 win over the Spires.
Tabor led 36-20 at the half and battled Saint Mary even in the final 20 minutes to preserve its 16 point win.
Tremaine Dalton led the Spires with 14.
Matt Nelson led the Bluejays with 15 points while Grant Brubacher added 14 and Brad Gattis chipped in 12 as Tabor connected on 23 of 52 shots for the game (44 percent) including four of 14 (28 percent) from the 3-point arc.
The Bluejays hit just three of five first half free throws but made a decent living on the line in the final 20 minutes connecting on 19 of 26 to finish the game hitting 22 of 31 (71 percent) from the stripe.
Saint Mary hit just 21 of 70 from the field (30 percent) and five of 20 (24 percent) from the 3-point arc.
Tabor controlled the backboards with 55 rebounds, led by 11 from Gattis and 10 by Chris Metcalf while Saint Mary had just 29 caroms.
With the win, Tabor improves to 12-14 overall and 9-8 in the KCAC while Saint Mary remains winless in conference play at 0-17 and falls to 1-25 overall.
The Bluejays return home Saturday to wrap up the regular season hosting the Bethel College Threshers with the women’s game set to tip off at 5:00.
Tabor sweeps pair from Spires
