Reversing a pattern from recent games, the Tabor women held off Ottawa late to win 59-52.
The Bluejays were without two key guards late in the game. Andrea Robinson and Vivian Olivera had fouled out earlier in the game. Olivera picked up her fifth with 7:15 left to play. Robinson exited the game with under two minutes left to play.
With 1:10 to play, Tabor was up 56-52 with the ball. The Bluejays gave Ottawa a chance to cut the lead to one or two, turning the ball over on a moving screen violation on Stephanie Silvas.
On the ensuing Ottawa possession, the Braves leading scorer for the game, Misty Stone was called for an offensive foul putting Tynan Honn at the charity stripe with 21.9 seconds left.
Honn sunk the free throws and MacKenzie Dick hit one of her two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to seal the victory.
Tabor coach Shawn Winter said late game situations had been a focal point of the Bluejays preparation and is something he hopes to see improvement on the rest of the season from the young squad.
?We just continue to work hard in practice on those situations, ?he said. ?I think it?s a matter of their (Bluejay players) perseverance and determination not to give up on the season.?
Dick led all scorers with 20 points. Honn had 18 points eight rebounds, Robinson finished with nine, Other scorers for Tabor were Tiffany Bulk and Silvas (4), Olivera and Sarah Wycoff (2).
Ottawa was led by Stone with 18 and Paige Gibson with 10.
Kansas Wesleyan?Tabor hung with NAIA Division 2 ranked No. 22 Kansas Wesleyan through the first 15 minutes of the first half, but watched the Coyotes pull away to a 68-47 victory on Tabor?s parent?s night, Saturday in Hillsboro.
Kansas Wesleyan jumped out to 7-2 advantage in the early part of the ball game, but saw its lead diminish. Tabor rallied, taking the lead at 15-13 after a Tynan Honn layup and free throw. That was the last time Tabor would lead.
Kansas Wesleyan opened up a 10-point lead with 6:15 left in the first half, which ended 31-24 Coyotes.
Tabor opened the second half with a bucket by Honn and battled, not letting the Coyote score surpass 11 until the Coyotes took a 48-34 lead with 10:10 in the game.
Kansas Wesleyan increased its lead to as much as 23 in the second half.
Stephanie Frost led all scorers with 16 points. Shelby Babcock had 14, Montric Santee scored 12.
MacKenzie Dick led Tabor with 14 points, five rebounds. Tynan Honn had 13 points, seven rebounds.
Other scorers for Tabor were Andrea Robinson (9), Vivian Olivera (3), Stephanie Silvas, Molly Dick, Sara Wyckoff and Nichole Gentry (2).
Tabor fell to 4-10, 5-19 and in a tie for Ottawa for the KCAC sixth slot. The Bluejays travel to 5-9, 8-16 Bethany on Thursday and host 10-4, 17-7 Southwestern on Saturday.
