The Tabor College women?s basketball team defeated McPherson, 67-56, Saturday in the Bluejays? final game before Christmas break.
The teams battled fairly evenly in the first half, and each led by as many as five points.
McPherson claimed the advantage early, but after a 12-12 tie, Tabor surged to a 19-14 lead. McPherson tied it at 19 before Kayla Wilgers pushed Tabor back in front with a three-pointer at 7:24.
McPherson tied the game at 34 with a basket with 20 seconds left in the half, then Mikaelyn Dick made a three-pointer with 4 seconds remaining to give Tabor a 37-34 halftime lead.
Tabor burst out of the locker room with a 16-1 run to take their largest lead of the night, 53-35, when Taylor Janzen scored off a turnover at the 12:47 mark. Wilgers drained two three-pointers in a 38-second span, and Tabor kept its lead in double figures the rest of the way.
Wilgers scored a game-high 25 points, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. Tonisha Dean had 11 rebounds and Tena Loewen 10. Tabor outrebounded McPherson 42-31.
Saint Mary?The Bluejays overcame a three-point halftime deficit to defeat the Spires, 70-62, Thursday.
?We just weren?t very disciplined,? coach Shawn Reed said. ?We got out to a nice lead there early in the (first) half, and then we just kind of shut down, and they came roaring back. That?s what happened at the end of the game, too. We have to be more disciplined to execute and finish halves and finish runs and finish games, and we let our foot off the gas and that kills us.?
It was a back-and-forth battle at the start, but Tabor gained distance when Mallory Zuercher scored consecutive baskets for a 9-4 margin. Tabor led by as many as 17-11, but the Spires used three three-pointers to claim a 25-19 lead. The Spires increased it to 29-21 with 4:50 left in the half.
Kaleigh Troxell scored seven of Tabor?s next eight points to bring the Bluejays within 32-29, and the half ended with Saint Mary in front, 34-31.
?I was pretty upset at halftime because I didn?t think we played our scouting report,? Reed said. ?I didn?t think we played our defensive fundamentals, and I didn?t think we threw the ball inside on offense, and we had a ton of traveling. It was just sloppy.?
Offensively, Tabor got the ball inside more after the break, and the Bluejay defense stepped up its game, Reed said. Sam Short burst with a string of eight points to put Tabor in front, 38-34, and the Bluejays never trailed again.
With Tabor leading 47-46, Tonisha Dean ignited a 9-0 run with a three, and the Bluejays led 61-47 when Kayla Wilgers made a three, then a jumper.
But the Spires chipped away at the lead and closed to within 64-60 after a three-point play with 34 seconds left. Troxell and Short combined for six points from the charity stripe in the final 22 seconds to keep Tabor in front at the end.
Troxell led all scorers with 19 points. Short and Zuercher each added 13.
?These are tough games to play,? Reed said. ?No one is here. School is out. My girls are ready to go home. But they have to be disciplined enough to play through that because that would?ve been a pretty devastating loss tonight.?
Coming?The Bluejays (3-1, 7-7) will host the Tabor Classic upon returning from Christmas break. Tabor will play No. 21 Doane Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. and Benedictine Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. Conference play will resume Jan. 8 at Bethel.
