The Tabor College women’s basketball team gave itself an early gift with a pair of wins over Ottawa and McPherson in the week leading up to its Christmas holiday.
After claiming a 61-57 home win over the Bulldogs Thursday, the Bluejays beat the Braves 51-45 for their first road win of the season.
Stephanie Silvas sparked a 39-19 romp in the opening half at Ottawa. Tabor went up by 23 on a 3-pointer by Andrea Robinson early in the second half, but the Bluejays then went eight minutes without a score.
Tabor connected on just three field goals of 20 attempts in the second half, but added five foul shots to preserve victory.
Robinson finished with 14 points and Gina Hullet totaled 13 along with 10 rebounds.
McPherson?The Bluejays scored 31 points in the first half and extended their lead to as many as 16 points during the second half. Stephanie Silvas scored nine, including the 3-pointer that effectively broke McPherson?s hold on the early lead and assisted on Tynan Honn?s field goal a moment later. Taken together, the baskets turned a 14-10 deficit into a 15-14 lead?after which the Bluejays did not trail.
Silvas?s layup 2:08 into the second half made it 38-22, but with 14 second-half points from Michelle Ducy, the Bulldogs made an uncomfortably close game of it. McPherson used a 7-0 run to tie it at 52 with 2:44 to go.
Then Andrea Robinson saw to it that no change of lead would take place. Robinson snapped Tabor out of its dry spell with a 3-pointer 20 seconds after Ducy hit the tying free throw, then answered a 2-pointer by Kristen Ozbun with three foul shots, then hit the clinching charities: one with ten seconds left, the other with five.
But Ozbun?s layup-and-1 with 1:20 to go put the pressure squarely on the Bluejays? shoulders; Robinson answered that, too. Knifing through the full-court defense to set up Tynan Honn?s point-blank field goal, Robinson literally broke the pressure with 1:12 remaining.
Ahead by two and with help MacKenzie Dick?s offensive rebound, the Bluejays played out the remainder without having to play defense?fortunately, considering McPherson made 49 percent of its second half field goal tries along with 38 percent of its second half 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs were just 1-for-10 on first-half threes.
Robinson totaled 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, with three triples and four free throws. She also had four assists and six rebounds?team high in both categories.
Honn totaled 17 points.
Coming?Tabor (2-2 KCAC, 3-8 overall) next plays Jan. 1-2, with non-conference opponents Lindenwood and Haskell Indian Nations attending the annual Tabor College Classic.
