Lady Bluejays drop two to Peru State, St. Mary
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Lady Bluejay coach Rusty Allen seemed puzzled Saturday night after his team stumbled 56-44 in the second night of the Tabor Classic against Peru State.
How could his team play perhaps its best game of the season and still come up on the short end?
But he needed only to look at the Bluejays' shooting a chilly 28 percent from the field to find the answer.
"It wasn't a very good display of shooting the basketball, that's for sure," said Allen. "Our performance was absolutely outstanding though.
"It was one of those games when you wonder how you can get that kind of a performance and effort and still lose."
In just their second game back from the Christmas break, Allen wasn't about to make excuses that his team was still weary.
"We played hard full-court trapping defense, and I didn't notice one of them that looked like they had lost their legs the entire time," Allen said. "I have a hard time blaming it on fatigue."
The Bluejays led three times in the first half before finally going under for good at the 6:39 mark, 11-9.
The Bobcats allowed Tabor as close as 13-11 before a 7-0 run stretched their lead to 24-13 with 1:15 left in the half.
Eight of Tabor's 14 first half points came from the duo of Angela Kroeker's five and Rachelle Speers' three.
Speers finished with a game-high 15 points, including a pair of threes to go along with six defensive rebounds against a decent-sized Bobcat team.
Shooting a scant 21 percent from the field at halftime and trailing by 10, Tabor's bright spot came from its 9-2 edged in offensive rebounding.
The Bluejays would go on to outrebound the Bobcats decisively, 38-28 with a game-high eight coming from Becky Jons.
"Rebounding has been our Achilles' heel all year," said Allen. "The last two games we've beaten both teams on the boards, and both teams were considerably bigger than we are."
With 11 points, Jons and Speers were the only Bluejays who managed to score in double figures.
A pair of back-to-back baskets from Jons and Speers, respectively, and the Bluejays pulled to 24-18 with just over 18 minutes left in the game.
But another 7-0 run by the Bobcats left Tabor trailing 31-18.
The Bluejays mustered an 8-0 run of their own aided by a pair of triples from Speers and Carmen Hein to again pull to six, 36-30.
Jons drained a pair of free throws to pull Tabor as close as 48-43 in the closing three minutes of the game.
That was when Tabor's woes shooting the ball really surfaced with Jons scoring the Bluejays' final three points all from the free throw line.
The Bobcats held Tabor without a field goal to end the game on an 8-1 run.
"We just couldn't get the ball in the basket," Allen said. "But I couldn't be more proud of how the team approached the game."
Tabor came so close to winning the second half, falling just 32-30, the Bobcats' 24-14 first half proved to be the difference in the game.
The 6-9 Bluejays have nothing to lose this Thursday night when the fifth-ranked Sterling Lady Warriors visit Hillsboro.
"It's likely the toughest game we'll play all year," Allen said of his team's Thursday game. "What a great opportunity. How many times do you get the chance to play a top-five team in the country that's undefeated on your home court?
"My job is to convince our players that we don't (have anything to lose.)"
Tabor will host Ottawa Saturday for a 5 p.m. meeting.
St. Mary
Another hard-fought loss for the Bluejays, Tabor was again close in Friday night's 61-55 loss to the St. Mary Flames.
Tabor let a 25-23 halftime lead slip away as the Flames outscored the Bluejays the second half, 38-30.
The Bluejays again outrebounded their opponents 43-29 with Kroeker and Amber McKillip each grabbing a game-high eight.
Speers scored a team-high 24 including a trio of threes while Kroeker added 10.
Shooting a 41 percent overall on the night, the Bluejays suffered through the first of two off-nights from long range with 29 percent.
Peru State 56, Tabor 44
Peru State — 24 32 56
Tabor — 14 30 44
Peru State — Tiffany Taylor 12, Jamie McBride 10, Jesse Stehlik 5, Sara Craven 2, Jaci Ideus 6, Jen Easterwood 12, Brooke Placke 9, Totals 16-36 6-18 18-22 56.
Tabor — Kroeker 8, Speers 15, Hein 6, McKillip 2, Jessica Prock 2, Jons 11, Totals 16-57 5-23 7-11 44.
