Lady Bluejays stay unbeaten in KCAC
Seventh-ranked Tabor staves off strong Falcon effort, 64-56
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Lady Bluejay coach Rusty Allen was worried heading into Saturday night's contest against the hosting Friends Lady Falcons in Wichita.
He was scared the Falcons might ambush his team and snap its eight-game winning streak.
After all, that's what every team is aiming to do when you're sitting atop the KCAC like the Bluejays.
The Bluejays took the Falcons' best shot and it still wasn't enough in Wichita as Tabor (12-3, 6-0) stayed unbeaten in the league, fighting off a valiant effort with a 64-56 win.
"Friends is a well-coached team and they play hard," Allen said. "Our press defense the second half really took them out of their game, though."
What the Falcons look to do is keep the pace in their favor, kick the ball inside to their post, Kristen Welk, or light it up from outside.
Most of it seemed to work as the Falcons stayed neck-and-neck with the Bluejays the first half.
By halftime, the Falcons were breathing down the Bluejays' necks with the game squared at 28.
With the game still hanging in the balance just around midway through the second half, Allen decided to turn up the pressure.
And it paid dividends as the Falcons seemed to crumble under Tabor's pressure.
The Bluejays were the ones benefiting from perimeter shooting, hitting five-for-nine on the game with Erica Hemmert and Jill Hein combining for four.
Hemmert scored a game-high 20 points while Hein had perfect night from three-for-three from the floor for eight points.
Stacie Herman scored 16 points while dishing out a game-high five assists.
Tabor's defense harassed the Falcons into shooting 19-for-52 while the Bluejays stung Friends for 50 percent.
While the Falcons normally live by the three, they died by it Saturday, hitting a blustery five-for-20 against the potent, swarming Tabor defense.
Tabor faces an easier schedule this week hosting Kansas Wesleyan at 6 p.m. Thursday and St. Mary at 7 p.m. Saturday.
On Monday night in Hillsboro in a rematch of the Nov. 15 meeting in Wichita, the Bluejays ran its winning streak to 10, holding off the 16th-ranked Kansas Newman Lady Jets, 76-72.
The Jets squandered a 34-29 lead at the break with the Bluejays shooting 50 percent from the field the second half.
Herman scored a game-high 18 points and Hemmert supplied 16 points while committing a game-high seven thefts.
OTTAWA
The Bluejays faced perhaps their toughest conference opponent besides Sterling Thursday night in Hillsboro in the ranked Ottawa Lady Braves.
With both teams' adrenaline running high, the Bluejays were able to shake off a slow start to upend the Braves, 62-52.
Tabor had to overcome six-point deficits three times throughout the game's first 12:00 until Hein drained a triple with 4:24 left as part of a 13-0 run for the Bluejays.
"We stepped up the pressure," Allen said of the 13-point swing. "We had more depth than they had, so our players were fresher and they didn't run the court with us as well and the end result was us getting a lot of easier looks at the basket."
Still, the easier looks didn't show much as the Bluejays were 33 percent the first half and finished with 38 percent, despite hitting 82 percent at the free-throw line.
Ottawa went the last 5:43 without a basket that allowed the Bluejays to climb into the driver's seat by half, 29-18 with the Braves shooting a frigid 23 percent from the field and 11 from outside.
Tabor's defense limited Ottawa to just 31 percent for the game and 27 percent behind the arc.
The cold shooting kept the Braves from ever being able to close the gap any less than eight as the Bluejays stretched their lead as many as 19 after a three from Herman with 6:29 left.
Donya Anderson scored a game-high 13 points while Herman added 12.
