Bluejay women finish well by beating Bethany Swedes

The Tabor College women came back from two consecutive losses to win on the road Satur?day, beating Bethany College at Lindsborg, 56-45.

?That was a really good game for us,? assistant coach Erin Barocio said. ?We were coming off a tough loss Thursday. We just tried to keep our team as focused as possible on finishing the season strong.?

The Bluejays trailed at the half, 25-27. They came alive in the second half, though, outscoring the Swedes, 31-18, to earn the victory.

?Coming out in the second half we just jumped on them early and pushed to get the lead, extended the lead, and really battled hard down the stretch,? Barocio said.

Tabor shot 37 percent from the floor, compared to 21 percent for Bethany.

The Bluejays made 10 of 24 three-point shots for 42 percent accuracy and made 83 percent of their free throws. The Swedes shot 19 percent beyond the arc and 63 percent at the line.

?Katlyn Mary stepped up and had a really great game,? Barocio said. ?She definitely stepped up and led the team. They really responded.?

Mary finished with 27 points to lead the Bluejays. Tamara Garner scored 11 to lead the Swedes.

?It was just a really good overall team performance, especially after losing a starting player as significant as Whitney,? Borocio said.

The Bluejays? Whitney Polosky will be out for the rest of season due to injuries sustained in Thursday?s game.

Friends?The struggling Bluejays lost 74-72 to Friends Thursday, despite leading by nine points at halftime.

?We knew it was going to be a battle just because that game was going to be really significant about how the conference finished,? assistant coach Erin Barocio said. ?Every minute we had to play up to our best.?

The Bluejays kept pace with Friends for the first few minutes, before falling behind.

In the middle of the first half, the Bluejays found enough spark to hold the Falcons at 20 points and make a 10-point scoring run, helped by three-point baskets from Katlyn Mary and Amy Jo Maphet.

Leading the Falcons 24-20, the Bluejays allowed them a basket and then went on a 7-0 run to lead by nine points, 31-22. Mary added a three-pointer to give Tabor a 42-33 halftime lead.

Friends launched a 13-point scoring run early in the second half, reclaiming the lead, 48-44. During the run, Tabor lost Whitney Polosky, to an apparent leg injury. She did not return.

Maphet hit a three-point shot with 14 minutes left in the game to snap Friends? scoring streak, but the damage had been done.

The Falcons continued to pull away from Tabor, reaching their largest margin of the game, 63-51, with 7:50 left to play.

With just over six minutes left, the Bluejays staged a comeback, creeping to within three points of Friends, 68-65, with 2:34 left to play.

Two free throws from Maphet tied the game at 72 with 29 seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately for the Bluejays, the Falcons? Bre Selves sank a basket with 0.5 seconds remaining and the Bluejays? desperation shot at the buzzer fell short.

?We were constantly telling our team, ?It?s not over until the buzzer sounds, you have to keep fighting every minute,?? Barocio said. ?Our girls were driven to stay in the game.?

Maphet scored a team-high 22 points. Teammates Tynan Honn and Mary scored 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Tavi Polley-Davis led the Falcons with 20 points, while Abril Marshall and Selves added 13 and 10, respectively.

?I think our team has responded very well through a lot of adversity we?ve had this year,? Barocio said. ?We?re really proud of them and how they performed.?

Coming?The No. 7 seeded Bluejays are scheduled to play on the road at No. 2 Kansas Wesleyan in the KCAC quarterfinal match-ups on Thursday.

The winner of that game will play the winner between No. 3 South?western and No. 6 Ottawa on Saturday.

The championship game is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 28, at the Hartman Arena in Park City.

More from Hillsboro Free Press
Professional performer offers stage advice at HHS
Members of the Hillsboro High School cast for the fall production of...
Read More