Staying undefeated in the KCAC, Sterling women?s basketball team pulled away in the final four minutes to beat Tabor, 62-51 on Saturday night in Hillsboro. Sterling (10-0, 15-3), ended the game with six consecutive points to put away the pesky Bluejays.
There were 11 lead changes and three ties in the game.
Tabor was within 52-49 at the 3:32 mark, cutting the lead from six on a MacKenzie Dick three-point field goal. That was the closest Tabor would be for the remainder of the game.
Sterling?s Cathryn Wiebe led all scorers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Erica Murman had 11 points, three assists. Brittany Gasper finished with 11 points.
MacKenzie Dick was good on 4-for-6 from three point range and finished with 16 points. Stephanie Silvas had nine points, six rebounds and four assists, shooting 57 percent from the field.
Sterling improved to a 10-0 KCAC record and 16-3 overall, while Tabor falls to a 3-7 KCAC record and is 4-16 overall.
Cody Arnold?s second consecutive 20-point performance wasn?t enough as Sterling controlled Tabor throughout, 90-78 on Saturday night in Hillsboro.
Sterling led from the opening tap, jumping out to an early 7-0 advantage. Tabor came within five points at 23-18 with 9:42 to play in the first half but fell behind double digits before the conclusion of the half. The first stanza ended 46-33, Sterling.
The Bluejays fell behind by as much as 27 points before cutting the Sterling?s lead to 12 late in the ball game. Three pointers by Arnold and Lawson Kingsley were key in the 15-point turnaround.
Arnold led all scorers with 22 points, seven rebounds. Damon Dechant added 16 points, five rebounds. Daniel Hann scored 10 points and snatched eight rebounds and Lawson Kingsley finished with nine points, seven rebounds.
Five players finished in double figures for Sterling, including Trenton Stutzman (17), Zach Poole and Zach Goodrich (16), Randy July (14), and Chad Friess (10).
Tabor finished the season 1-1 against Sterling, beating the Warriors on Dec. 3 at Sterling, 92-80.
Sterling improves to a 4-6 KCAC record and 7-13 overall, Tabor falls to 3-7, 6-13 overall.
Both Tabor basketball teams will be in action Thursday at Bethel in Newton, and Saturday at McPherson.
