On the way to winning 72-66 at Ottawa Thursday, the Tabor College
women's basketball team climbed out of a 13-point hole in the second
half to force overtime on the strength of two late scores by Stephanie
Silvas, two late steals by Kirsten Watson and an offensive rebound and
layup by Gina Hullet. Hullet's score made it 58-56 with 22 seconds
left, and Tabor caught a bit of a break when Braves' gunner Marie
Goyette's long jump shot with 17 seconds left was ruled a tying
2-pointer instead of a lead-changing 3-pointer.
But the Bluejays completely took Goyette out of the equation in
overtime, scoring first on Andrea Robinson's dribble drive layup.
Tabor's defense earned a stop, and the Bluejays pounded the ball to
Hullet for two foul shots and a 62-58 lead on the offensive end. Ottawa closed within 62-61 when Paige
Gibson netted a trey, and the Braves forced a Tabor turnover on the Bluejays subsequent trip. Ottawa
failed to capitalize, and when the Bluejays regained control, they
cycled the ball to Hullet, who scored a layup off the dribble to
restore a 3-point lead.
Tabor again stopped Ottawa and again spread the floor to attack off the
dribble, putting the ball in Watson's hands to start a play that
resulted in two more free throws. On its ensuing possession, Ottawa
found Gibson completely alone on the right wing side, but her shot
missed everything. After forcing a long shot attempt and rebounding the
miss, the Braves pulled within three, 66-63, when Misty Stone crashed
the offensive boards to score a putback.
Watson answered with a trey, and Ottawa did not threaten again. Watson
led three Bluejays in double-digits with 20, while Hullet (18 points)
came up a rebound shy of a double-double. Robinson added 13. Goyette
totaled 28, but Tabor outscored the Braves 22-10 in the paint after
halftime.
The men's team won 93-88, with a post offense that outscored Ottawa
44-28 in the paint and tripled the Braves output on second chances
(21-7), and a press defense that converting 17 Ottawa turnovers into 21
points. Phil McClintock threw in 33 points and David Birch backed his
effort with 24 for Ottawa, but five Bluejays scored double-figures:
Damon Dechant (24), Zack Vanselow (17), Kyle de Blonk (14), Orson
Thomas (13), and Jared Hett (12).
Tabor took a 45-42 halftime lead despite several airballs and botched
layups, and used an 11-1 run powered with two midrange jump shots and a
layup by Dechant in conjunction with a pullup jumper and a
top-of-the-key 3-pointer by de Blonk to open up a 67-56 advantage.
McClintock could not miss for three minutes following Ottawa's timeout,
and brought the Braves within 68-63.
Despite 3-balls by Birch and McClintock framing a Dechant 2-pointer,
Ottawa came no closer than three points down the stretch, as Tabor's
steady stream of layups and foul shots carried the day.
Tabor's regular season ends at Bethany Saturday. Thursday's wins lifted the
women out of a logjam at the bottom of the conference and into sole
possession of sixth place. The men tied Ottawa for fourth in the KCAC.
