ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ANDREW OTTOSON
With a pair of wins, the Tabor College women improved their KCAC record to a conference-best 11-1. The Bluejays are tied with Sterling for the top spot.
Three players-Chelsea Malone, Cheri Mount and Erin Runge-missed games this week.
Malone and Mount are both sidelined for the rest of the season with leg injuries, and Runge sat out Saturday night’s game to rest injured shoulders.
Saint Mary-Saturday night”s mismatch with the Spires ended with the score decidedly in Tabor”s favor at 68-46.
“After playing poorly at McPherson, we were really sharp,” coach Rusty Allen said. “We really moved the ball crisply, we cut hard, ran the floor well and played defense with passion.”
The Bluejays’ Nicole Ellis made the first basket of the game and Saint Mary never led the game or tied the score. But 4:44 into the first half, Spires guard Ashley Fraser drilled a 3-point shot that cut Tabor’s lead to 9-6.
The Bluejays then blew the game open with a 9-2 over the next 2:14. Donya Anderson scored five points in a little over a minute off feeds from Kirsten Watson, including a 3-pointer.
“She can literally do everything on the court. She’s the most complete player I’ve ever seen at her position,” Allen said.
After a 3:37 lull in which the Spires outscored Tabor 4-2, the disparity between the teams became most obvious. Tabor put together an 11-0 run over the next 5:47 and got 2-point baskets from Emily Vogts, Stacie Herman and Ellis.
Andrea Robinson capped the burst with a 3-point play that made the score 31-12 with 3:31 left in the half. By the time intermission arrived, Tabor led 35-14.
In the second half, Tabor started with a 12-3 run. When Watson made a pair of free throws with 10:14 to go, Tabor led by 36 and Allen went to his bench.
Saint Mary had a little more success from that point, and put together a 13-5 run. Then, beginning at 5:43, Tabor turned the game into a layup line.
With Watson running the point, the Bluejays worked the ball around the perimeter and then inside to Anderson on three straight possessions.
Each time, Anderson sent an accurate pass to Jenny Gaskell, who kept getting open on the other side of the lane. Gaskell made the most of the open looks, and scored six points in 1:34.
Amanda McDonald went to the free-throw line at 3:34 and gave Tabor a 28-point lead. Watson scored the home team’s last point with a free throw at 1:47.
Saint Mary scored five points in the final minute.
With the 22-point win, Tabor improved its record to 11-1 and held on to a share of the conference lead.
Despite its huge margin of victory, Tabor did not shoot 3-pointers well and finished 3-for-16 from beyond the arc. But the team spent most of the night pushing the ball into the lane; as a group they made 21 of 34 2-point attempts.
Vogts led the team with 14 points, followed by Ellis (13) and Robinson (10).
Anderson nearly had her second triple-double of the season. In the second half, Anderson had a bead on a 3-pointer that would have completed feat, but the shot rimmed out.
It was the only shot she missed.
Anderson finished 3-of-4 from the field with seven points to go with 18 rebounds, 12 assists and four blocked shots.
“She’s really in a groove the last four or five games,” Allen said.
McPherson-After a choppy start saw the teams combine to make just six shots in the first 4:41, Tabor found its groove and followed it to a 34-28 halftime lead and a 65-59 victory over the Bulldogs.
Tabor trailed by six points, 19-13, with 8:58 left in the first half, but turned the tables on the home team over the next 6:25.
Donya Anderson may have sparked a rally with a 3-pointer at 8:39, but she also lit a fire that kept growing down the stretch.
Andrea Robinson used her dribbling skills to break down McPherson’s perimeter defense and kicked the ball out to Anderson for another long jumper that capped a 10-3 run with 6:47 to go.
The Bluejays took the lead for good when Emily Vogts buried a pair of foul shots 27 seconds later, but McPherson contested the next 3:06 very closely.
After three consecutive whistles went against Tabor, Erin Runge posted a 2-pointer that made it 29-24 in the Bluejays’ favor.
As the half wound down, Anderson anticipated a pass and tipped the ball away from Harvey. Tabor’s senior center broke away with Stacie Herman running to her left.
Anderson sent a bounce pass to Herman, who scored the layup with four seconds to go.
The assist was one of eight on the night for Anderson, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Tabor’s scores rarely came easily or in bunches, but the Bluejays never let the home team come within six points of tying the game. Jenny Gaskell gave the team a 14-point lead, its biggest of the night, with a put-back bucket at 12:50.
Runge and Vogts killed a 6-0 McPherson run with a free throws at 11:05 and 9:44, respectively. Kirsten Watson followed with a 3-pointer at 6:45, and Tabor’s lead was back to 13 points.
But McPherson narrowed the margin to eight points on a layup at 4:13.
Anderson assisted on consecutive scores by Vogts and Nicole Ellis down the stretch, and Tabor took a 64-54 lead with 1:15.
Coming-Tabor (11-1) plays at 6 p.m. at home against Ottawa (10-2) on Thursday. Ottawa is third in the KCAC, and Tabor has defeated the Braves once already this season.
Behind 18 points from Chelsea Malone, the Bluejays grabbed a 73-71 win at Ottawa on Dec. 9.
On Saturday, the Bluejays will travel to Winfield for a 5 p.m. contest against Southwestern (7-4). Tabor won the first meeting 75-67 behind 23 points from Emily Vogts and 18 from Donya Anderson.
