Lady Bluejays cruise by Bulldogs
Tabor rebounds from Sterling crusher to thump McPherson, 75-57
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
The Lady Bluejays are leery anytime they venture into hostile McPherson.
Just two years ago, first-year coach Rusty Allen brought in a good Bluejay team to face the Lady Bulldogs, only to get hammered in the first round of the KCAC tournament.
That was then.
Now the Bulldogs (5-9 KCAC, 11-11) aren't quite the team they were back then.
The Bluejays (8-6 KCAC, 14-10) jumped out to a quick start, eventually rolling to a huge 75-57 road win over Allen's alma mater.
"I always have concerns when we come to McPherson," Allen said. "They're good three-point shooters, and they really play an up-and-down. You've got to stay tough.
"Usually they're going to make some runs on you in their gym. It's my alma mater so I always have an extra incentive to win over here."
That was considered done by half-time, if the Bluejays didn't blow the 46-29 lead going into the locker room.
The Bulldogs' miseries started early, with Donya Anderson giving the Bluejays a permanent lead with a three-point play.
McPherson got to within 3-2, but seven unanswered points by the Bluejays made a point the closest the Bulldogs ever got.
Anderson ripped McPherson the first half, scoring all 12 of her points and finishing with a game-high nine rebounds and three offensively.
Anderson wasn't alone in burning the Bulldogs.
Rachelle Wertenberger and Erica Hemmert each pitched in with a game-high 16 points and a combined 4-for-9 from downtown, while Trixsi Odom dumped in 10 points.
Tabor's gap widened to 20-8 with the help of a 12-4 run during which Anderson and Odom supplied eight points 7:26 into the game.
If surrendering 47 percent from the floor to Bluejays the first half wasn't bad enough for the Bulldogs, nearly half of Tabor's 46 points were from 15 turnovers.
Turnovers killed McPherson with Tabor scoring 36 points from Bulldog mistakes in the game.
Despite the Bulldogs shooting nearly 40 percent from the field and 43 from outside, Tabor ended the first half on a 10-0 run.
Wertenberger and Anderson led all scorers at the half with 12 points each.
"She really played well the first half," Allen said of Wertenberger. "Rachelle is just so determined. If there's an athlete anywhere that has more determination than her, I have not seen it.
"You can always count on some things from Rachelle and sometimes it really pays off big and it sure did tonight in the first half."
While the first half belonged to Anderson and Wertenberger, Hemmert and Odom warmed up for the second half.
Hemmert caught fire the second half, hitting 4-for-7 from the field for eight points, including a basket at the 12:05 mark that pushed Tabor's lead to 56-36.
Two free-throws from Angela Kroeker put the Bluejays ahead with their largest lead of 21 with 9:18 to go, 61-40.
The Bluejays' pressure defense, spearheaded by a game-high three thefts from Wertenberger, held McPherson to 29 percent from the floor the second half.
In one of its best rebounding efforts on the season, Tabor soared for a 47-36 win there, too, shooting 47 percent for the game.
The Bluejays face a week that has potential for retribution beginning at 6 p.m. tonight when they host the Ottawa Lady Braves in a rematch.
Tabor travels Saturday to Winfield to tackle the Southwestern Lady 'Builders, who beat the Bluejays by one point on a last-second shot back in January.
Saturday's game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Sterling
The Bluejays have come so close to reaching the top step of the KCAC ladder so many times. Somehow the rung always seems to break when Tabor gets within distance.
It was the same sad story once again Feb. 5 for the Bluejays when they played league front-runner and 14th-ranked Sterling.
The Bluejays battled back from a double-digit deficit early in the first half, but didn't have the strength to get over the hump.
Despite Tabor's outscoring the Lady Warriors the second half, 31-28, it was Sterling's play the first half that sealed its victory.
The Bluejays spotted Sterling 16 points off 20 turnovers, about twice as many as they need to stun a team like the Warriors.
The Sterling duo of Amy Anderson and Crystal Pitts combined to sting Tabor for 28 points.
Tabor countered with a game-high 19 points from Erica Hemmert and 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds from Jill Hein.
