The Tabor women?s basketball team went winless at the Tabor Holiday Classic this weekend, falling to Iowa Wesleyan College and Baker University.
The losses dropped the team?s record to 2-12 and extend their losing streak to seven games.
?I am still very proud of our players and the effort they are putting forth on a daily basis,? said coach Shawn Reed said. ?This group is working very hard to improve and I am still excited about what we can accomplish this season.?
Reed said he thought the Bluejays played well in both games during the Classic, leading early both times and playing better offensively in spurts.
The Bluejays continued to have periods during the game when their movement and offense are stagnant, he said, but the team is improving.
?It has been frustrating being competitive in games but not getting the ultimate result (of wins) we are seeking,? Reed said. ?We will continue to work hard to improve as a team and individually and trust that eventually the victories will come if we improve our execution.?
Baker?Tabor lost to Baker University, 58-48, Saturday in the Bluejays? final game of the tournament, brought down by a familiar ailment: poor shooting.
The Bluejays struggled defensively in the first half, allowing Baker 50 percent shooting from the field and three-point range, and could not find the basket from beyond the arc, making just one of four attempts.
Baker held a comfortable lead, 35-26, going into the break.
Tabor got its defensive act together in the second half, holding Baker to 29 and 33 percent shooting, but failed to jumpstart the offense.
The Bluejays improved to 38 percent shooting from beyond the arc, but made just seven of 21 attempts from the field.
Whitney Frise and Brittany Shaklee led the scoring effort with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Iowa Wesleyan?Even a solid performance from Tabor?s Katlyn Mary, who had 15 points in Friday?s game, could not prevent the Bluejays? 63-52 loss.
Tabor began well, building a 17-8 lead in the first five minutes of play, thanks to back-to-back threes from Mary and Whitney Frise.
But the Bluejay offense dried up as Iowa Wesleyan put together a 10-put run for an 18-17 lead.
Mary hit a scrambling layup to snap the streak and give Tabor the lead. But an unanswered nine-point scoring burst from IWU gave the visitors a 27-19 lead at 5:55 in the first half.
Tabor rallied and Mary drained a three-pointer with 14 seconds left before the break to make it 34-32 at intermission.
IWU outscored Tabor in the second half, 29-20, as the Bluejays? shooting average dropped to 33 percent from field and 22 percent beyond the arc.
IWU drew steadily away for the win, with the Bluejays never regaining the lead.
Tabor?s Tynan Honn scored 11 points and Hannah Paust 10 in the loss. The Bluejays were outrebounded, 36-34, and turned over the ball 20 times to IWU?s 14.
But it was shooting percentage was the major difference between the two teams. IWU shot 42 percent from the field to Tabor?s 39 percent. The visitors made 33 percent of their three-point attempts and the Bluejays made only 25 percent.
IWU outscored Tabor at the line, 10-5, making 10 of 16 attempts to Tabor?s 55 percent accuracy.
Coming?The Bluejays are scheduled to be back in action Thursday with a game at Bethany College before hosting Bethel College Saturday.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
See hillsborofreepress.com for same-night coverage.
