Tabor women rally for close rivalry win

TCwbbAtBethelMary673

TCwbbAtBethelMary673

A tremendous comeback carried the Tabor women to victory over rival Bethel College Thursday, before Friends handed them a loss Saturday. The Jays are 5-21 overall and 3-13 in KCAC play.

Friends?Tabor got off to a strong start with a 13-0 burst from Katlyn Mary and Tynan Honn, and led the Falcons at halftime. But they fell apart in the second half, with turnovers and poor shooting leading to a 30-22 defeat.

?We jumped out on Friends early and took a 30-22 lead into intermission but in the second half we did not execute on either end of the floor and I thought we looked tired,? said coach Shawn Reed. ?I thought Friends? strength and athleticism affected us and we turned the ball over way too much.?

Mary came out sizzling at the start, draining three baskets from three-point range over a 3:40 span. With four points from Tynan Honn, Tabor led 13-0 lead with 14:50 left in the half.

The Falcons chipped away at the Bluejay lead to 26-20 with 1:28 left in the half, but Paust scored three points and Molly Dick made a free throw to put Tabor on top, 30-22, at the break.

But the magic that had sustained the Bluejays through back-to-back wins and a strong first half disappeared as Friends outscored Tabor, 43-24, in the second half.

The Falcons kicked off the second half with a 13-3 scoring spurt to take the lead, 35-33, at 14:53. Tabor tied it up three minutes later, but with 10:10 remaining Friends launched a 15-0 run that gave them a 56-40 advantage.

The Bluejays managed a few more points, but couldn?t find a way to break free of a sticky Friends defense and stop their high-powered offense.

Mary led Tabor with 26 points. No other player broke double digits.

Bethel?Tabor scored 43 points in the second half of Thursday?s game at North Newton to turn a 16-point halftime deficit into a 57-52 victory.

?It was a very exciting win for our team,? coach Shawn Reed said. ?To come back from that deficit on the road says a lot about our team and what we are capable of doing.?

Though Tabor did not lack energy in the first half, the Bluejays struggled to hit shots, connecting on four of 28 attempts from the field, including two of 13 from behind the arc.

Trailing 30-14 at halftime, the Bluejays came out fighting in the second half, clawing their way out of the hole to outscore Bethel 43-22 in the final half.

Katlyn Mary kicked off the action with a basket 15 seconds in and a three-pointer at 18:58 to make it 30-19. With just over 16 minutes remaining, Tynan Honn scored back-to-back baskets to break the double-digit lead Bethel had held the previous 13:30 of play.

Mary sank a free throw to complete a three-point play that tied the game with 9:50 left.The game would be tied three more times, plus three lead changes as the clock wound down.

Whitney Frise scored at the line to give Tabor its first lead, 45-44, at 5:50. Bethel took the lead twice more before Honn scored off a pass from Mary to give Tabor the lead for good on the way to the five-point victory.

In addition to Mary?s 23 points, Hannah Paust and Honn scored 11 and 10 points.

?Katlyn Mary played really well and Tynan Honn had a big second half,? Reed said. ?Hannah and Whitney made some big free-throws in that game and My-Chal Duncan played well defensively.?

Coming?The Bluejays are scheduled to host Sterling College Thursday before playing the University of Saint Mary Saturday.

Tip-off is a 6 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Saturday.

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