Lady Bluejays blow out St. Mary for 12th straight win years ago
Seventh-ranked Tabor \crushes Lady Spires, 76-35
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Sitting atop the KCAC at 8-0 and seventh in the NAIA at 15-3, there's not much the Lady Bluejays aren't doing well.
But Tabor coach Rusty Allen has put a big emphasis on taking care of the basketball and getting the ball into the post.
On Saturday in Hillsboro against the floundering St. Mary Lady Spires, the Bluejays could have used the game to toy around against an undermanned team, or work on things they don't normally get a lot of practice with.
"That's not how we look at games like this," Allen said. "In games like this, we try and just sharpen what we do well. I don't like to toy around."
The Bluejays looked razor-sharp, hammering the Spires 76-35 to extend their winning streak to 12.
Much of Tabor's 15 wins have come from its smothering pressure defense.
On Saturday, the Bluejays didn't need to press to give the Spires fits defensively.
Offensively, all Tabor had to do was get the ball inside to Emily Vogts.
Vogts responded, combining with Staci Herman for 28 points with a game-high 14 with Vogts pulling down eight rebounds.
"She (Vogts) took it at them hard," said Allen. "I thought from the very early part of the game she sensed she could go right at them and I thought she was really aggressive. We're really pleased with that."
The Bluejays actually fell behind in the opening stages of the game after going nearly 3:00 without a basket.
Much to the chagrin of the Spires, they had to kiss their only lead goodbye as the Bluejays took control with an 18-3 run to stretch their lead to 20-7 with 9:16 left before halftime.
Tabor took its lead as far as 21 with Nicole Ellis knocking down a basket to make it a 34-13 game.
Even without the pressing Bluejay defense, the Spires had a hard enough time scoring, shooting a paltry 21 percent the first half and 23 for the game.
Vogts' quick feet didn't offer St. Mary's perimeter shooters any good looks at the basket and the Spires' three-point game suffered, going an ugly three-for-18 on the night.
With Allen going 14 players deep into his rotation, Jenny Gaskell scored in transition with :42 left to send Tabor in with a commanding 36-17 lead at the break.
Allen got the biggest lift from his bench he's gotten all season with the Bluejays outscoring St. Mary, 35-6.
Erica Dechant and Ellis came off to score nine points each with Dechant draining a perfect three-for-three from downtown to help Tabor hit seven-of-15 from outside.
"If you take a way the first four games, Erica's three-point shooting percentage is on fire," Allen said. "If you leave her, it's about like her shooting a free throw right now. That's how much confidence she's playing with.
"But it wasn't just her off bench. I thought our whole bench really played well and executed together."
The Bluejays picked right up where they left off the first half, either working the ball inside or scoring on fast-breaks.
As a result, Tabor's 41 percent shooting the first half warmed up 12 degrees the second and 46 overall.
St. Mary hit a lapse down the stretch that lasted nearly 6:00.
Tabor used that time to push its lead to 42 with a 19-1 run.
The Bluejays dominated the Spires in every category, outrebounding St. Mary 49-27 with Donya Anderson grabbing a game-high 10, and Erica Hemmert dishing out a game-high four assists for the 21-4 edge.
Tabor faces a pair of games on the road this week starting Thursday in North Newton against the Bethel Lady Threshers.
Tabor then travels Saturday to Lindsborg to face the Bethany Lady Swedes with a 5 p.m. tip.
