TC scores first win at Sterling Classic

TCwbbPaynePB220385.jpg
TCwbbPaynePB220385.jpg

Two Iowa Wesleyan players squeeze freshman guard Amanda Payne with a half-court trap. Payne retained possession, but Wesleyan forced 30 turnovers Saturday and won, 79-59.

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Gina Hullet posts up Drover?s forward Eilyn Flores Nov. 18. Hullet traveled on the play?her only turnover?but scored 12 points.

The Tabor College women's basketball team picked up its first win of the non-conference season, 59-51 over St. Gregory?s University at the Sterling College Classic Friday.

Iowa Wesleyan handed the Bluejays their second loss of the week, 79-59, Saturday at Sterling. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma defeated Tabor 88-58 Nov. 22 in Hillsboro.

?We needed a win, it was good to get into the win column,? coach Shawn Winter said. ?Our team is still trying to find our identity, with three new players joining the team since volleyball ended.

?There?s a transition time for everybody to get used to each other, and it?s a little bit like starting over again,? he noted.

Iowa Wesleyan?With 10 players standing 5-foot 8-inch or taller, the Tigers dominated play in the paint and, especially, on the offensive glass.

Wesleyan forced Tabor?s forwards into foul trouble and outscored the Bluejays 20-12 at the free throw line?and 9-2 on foul shots in the first half.

Tabor committed 30 turnovers.

?Having 30 turnovers is not acceptable,? Winter said. ?We had 13 turnovers from the point guard position.?

But the Bluejays outplayed the Tigers for much of the first half, and played competitively throughout the second half with the exception of one backbreaking stretch.

In the first half, Tabor cut a 9-point deficit down to 27-26, capping a 14-7 run with a 6-2 spurt.

Trailing 20-15, Kirsten Watson sparked the run with a 3-pointer at 10:26. Jordan Crosson cut it to 21-17 with a 2-pointer at 9:38, and Stephanie Silvas made it a 3-point game with a free throw at 8:27.

Brittany Roth cut it to two with a short jumper at 6:13, and Silvas made it a 1-point game with a 7-footer assisted by Eboni Sweat on a fast break that began with Watson picking Anna Jones? pocket on the defensive end.

But Megan Couch scored five of her 11 points during a 32-second span to restore the Tigers to a 6-point advantage, 32-26, with 3:56 remaining.

After Hullet put in a layup to finish off a possession retained by her offensive rebound, Wesleyan put together an 11-3 run to end the half.

When the second half began with Tabor giving away eight of 10 possessions via turnover, Wesleyan turned the game into a rout.

During an 11-minute stretch, the Bluejays went from down 11, at 45-34, to down 24, 67-43.

Silvas led the Bluejays in scoring with 14 points. Silvas also led the team in rebounding with 6 boards. Andrea Robinson scored 13 and Watson finished with 10.

Sterling defeated Iowa Wesleyan 87-53 Friday.

St. Gregory?s?Stephanie Silvas scored 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting and helped the Bluejays raise their game in the second half to defeat the Cavaliers.

Tabor led by three at halftime, and limited St. Gregory?s to just 8-for-28 from the field during the second frame.

Eboni Sweat scored a team-high 14 points.

?I think one of the strengths of our team is that we are going to have balanced scoring,? Winter said. ?We?ve got a number of players on our team who can step up and provide a 15-20 point night.?

Sterling defeated St. Gregory?s 76-49.

USAO?Tabor trailed 41-21 at halftime and the Drovers scored 47 second-half points to keep the Bluejays from climbing out of that deep hole.

Kirsten Watson’s 16 points led the Bluejays, and Tabor got 12 off the bench from Gina Hullet, but no other Bluejay had more than eight.

USAO, with a roster full of international players, had four players in double-digits. Debora Periera, of Sao Paoulo, Brazil, had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Ivaney Marquez, of Maracay, Venezuela, had 13 points. But it was Charite Lewis, a forward from Cushing, Oklahoma, that led all scorers with 27.

Tabor opened the second period with an 8-2 run, as 3-pointers by Watson and Chelsea Malone bracketed a pair of Andrea Robinson foul shots.

Lewis and Periera combined to net the next six points for USAO, but later, a 6-2 run on a combination of scores by Watson, Amanda Payne and Hullet chopped a 23-point deficit down to 19 with 12:32 left in the contest.

The Drovers answered quickly. Marquez set up a 2-pointer for Lewis, and Lamitra Daggs assisted on a 3-pointer by Marquez to snap the run, and USAO led by 24.

Hullet responded with four straight points to make it 61-41.

Tabor cut it back down to 19 less than two minutes later, when Hullet hit a 2-pointer and Stephanie Silvas knocked down a 3-pointer; Jordan Crosson assisted on both baskets.

But a layup by Lewis, a 3-pointer by Juliana Leite and a 2-pointer by Daggs ramped the Drovers lead to 28 with 5:34 left.

Hullet knocked down two free throws at 4:40, and threw in a layup set up by a pass from Payne to chop it back to 24 at 77-53, but USAO outscored the Bluejays 11-5 the rest of the way.

Coming?Tabor (1-4) wraps up the early non-conference portion of the schedule with a visit to Peru State (0-7) Nov. 29. The Bluejays open conference play at McPherson Dec. 4.

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