Tabor women take down Bethany Swedes

?????????????? The Tabor women picked up a win over Bethany College tonight, defeating the Swedes 51-34 and?putting them in a tie?for fourth place in the KCAC Conference.

?????????????? ?I thought it was a good night coming off a really good win on Saturday,? Bluejays coach Shawn Winter said. ?It?s just part of that maturing process. I feel like we?re making progress in that area and we just came ready to play.?

?????????????? Heather Eddings of the Swedes scored first with 18:16 left in the half. The Bluejays responded with a basket from Gina Hullet to tie the game and a three-point shot from Katlyn Mary to give the Bluejays the lead. Two more three-point shots from Amy Jo Maphet gave the Bluejays a 12-7 lead, with 14:14 left in the half.

?????????????? The Bluejays continued to pull away from the Swedes, slowly extending their lead as the clock wound down. A pass from Jocelyn Cook put the ball in the hands of Mary, who sank one basket and another one a minute later to put the Bluejays ahead, 18-9, with 8:44 left before the half.

?????????????? By the time both teams headed into the locker room, the Bluejays led by seven points, 24-17.

?????????????? A strong performance by the Bluejays? Mary galvanized the first part of the second half. She racked up 11 points in approximately the first four minutes of the half, sinking three three-point shots and making another basket to make the score 34-21 with just over 15:44 remaining.

?????????????? With a little over seven minutes left, both teams commenced a tough battle at the line. The Swedes made two of four attempts, Crysta Stensaas knocked in one for the Bluejays, and then Cathy Wade went to the line three times to put five points on the board for the Swedes. The Bluejays still held on to a 13-point lead, 43-30, with 4:29 left in the game.

?????????????? Vivian Olvera made two free throws for the Bluejays with a little over a minute left in the game, making the final score 51-34.

?????????????? ?They know as long as they do their job on the defensive end they can stay in games,? coach Winter said, referring to somewhat shaky shooting in the first half. He also commented on a stand-out performance from the Bluejays? Mary, who was the only Bluejays player in the double digits at 18 points for the night.

?She was disappointed in her performance in the first half, and in the second came out and showed what she was capable of doing, hitting points behind the three-point line. I think that really loosened us up and got our intensity back,? he said. ?She just played a really, really good basketball game.?

?????????????? He added that they finally won the rebounding battle, which they have struggled with in the past, but will be working on the zone offense that slowed them down at first against the Bethany College Swedes.

?We continue to get better,? coach Winter said. ?We?ll make a couple tough road trips to Sterling and St. Mary?s and see what happens.?

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