TC women clip Falcons? wings in seesaw battle

The Tabor Bluejays beat Friends Saturday night, 59-57, in a seesaw battle that saw the lead change hands three times in the last five minutes of play alone.

After Thursday?s loss to Southwestern, Bluejay women?s coach Shawn Winter said his team would have to match the Falcon?s intensity.

?I thought we responded very well,? Winter said. ?It doesn?t surprise me.?

The Falcons scored first, but the Bluejays responded with a quick three-pointer with 18:20 left in the half, starting off a physical, fast-paced half.

Despite several turnovers that resulted in Falcon points, the Bluejays took a narrow lead at times and never allowed Friends to draw lead by more than seven points.

In a momentum-shifting shot for the Bluejays, Whitney Polosky hit a three-pointer to narrow the Falcons? lead to four.

Two free throws and a couple layups gave Tabor the lead, 20-18, with 7:08 left in the half.

A five-point scoring run fed by Amy Jo Maphet, Tynan Honn and Polosky gave Tabor a six-point lead, 27-21, going into halftime.

The Bluejays turned the ball over a couple times at the beginning of the second half, but seemed to settle down and hit their stride.

?We addressed it at halftime,? coach Winter said, referring to the turnovers. ?We let the pressure get to us a bit in the first half.?

The Bluejays kept a narrow lead through the first portion of the second half, but the Falcons fought for the advantage with multiple three-point shots from Minta Whetstone. The 5-4 sophomore sank three three-pointers in the space of five minutes, the last one tying the game at 37 with 14:30 left to play.

With the Falcons ahead by seven points with 7:35 left, Bluejay freshman Alexia White drove in for the layup to make it 50-45. Back-to-back three-pointers by Maphet and Katlyn Mary put Tabor back in front, 51-50, with 6:33 to go.

Tabor and Friends fought back and forth for the lead down the home stretch. Jocelyn Cook?s free throw gave Tabor a one-point lead with 1:12 left. Then junior Gina Hullet sank two baskets with mere seconds left to nail down the two-point win.

?Every night?s a battle,? Winter said. ?You have to be ready and mentally focused. I thought we were as mentally tough tonight as we?ve been all season.?

He said the Bluejays fed off the energy Molly Dick brought to the court and that Honn played her best game of the year.

?I thought we matured a lot tonight,? Winter said.

Southwestern?The Bluejays fell behind early and never did overtake the Moundbuilders in a 76-58 loss Thursday at Winfield.

The Builders took a 13-6 lead with 12:31 left in the first half. Tabor fought back with seven points, but the Builders increased their lead to 27-13 with 4:20 left in the half.

The Bluejays rallied toward the end of the half, but the Builders still led, 39-25, at halftime.

Southwestern came on strong in the second half, increasing its lead to 25 points with 13:30 left to play.

The Bluejays whittled the lead to 22 points at 61-39 with a little more than seven minutes left, but could come no closer.

Asked what would have made the difference for the Bluejays, coach Shawn Winter responded, ?Cut down unforced turnovers by three-fourths, and cut down silly fouls by three to four.?

Coming?Tabor (4-4, 7-11) will host conference opponent Bethany College (1-7, 3-15) Thurs?day, then will be on the road Satur?day for a game in Leavenworth against Saint Mary University (1-7, 7-11).

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