Lady 'Jays upend Lady Rangers
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
The Lady Bluejays' main concern Monday night against the Northwestern Oklahoma State Lady Rangers in Hillsboro was taking care of the basketball.
That was something that backfired on Tabor Friday night against the hosting NCAA Div. II Fort Hays State Lady Tigers as the Bluejays committed 27 turnovers in a 68-56 loss.
The Bluejays remedied that somewhat Monday, committing 18 turnovers that led to 16 Ranger points.
With the remnants of a 74-36 thumping last season at the hands of the Rangers fresh in their minds, the quicker, more athletic and Bluejays outlasted the Rangers 60-49 to lift their record to 2-2 on the season.
"I really believe that quickness and overall team speed made the difference in the basketball game," Bluejay coach Rusty Allen said of his team's victory. "Our players were a little more poised when the game was really on the line than theirs were."
Casey Stucky scored a game-high 15 points, Erica Hemmert added 12 and Angela Kroeker scored 10 before fouling out late in the second half.
The Bluejays took off on an 8-0 run in the game's first 3:35 with half of the points coming from Rachelle Wertenberger.
But Tabor never could pull away, due to the icy one for 11 shooting from downtown, a good share off wide-open looks against a zone defense.
The Rangers used an 8-2 run to pull to 10-8 with 13:51 to go in the first half.
"I don't feel like we put them away," Allen said. "I think we could have, but I don't think we did."
Two was as close as NWOSU could get the first half with Hemmert canning a basket to match Tabor's largest lead of the half, 29-21, with just over :30 left.
Up 29-23 at intermission and shooting 52 percent from the field, the Bluejays could maintain the first half composure the second half.
Hemmert again pushed the Bluejay lead back to eight, 31-23, 1:07 into the second half, but that was the last field goal Tabor drained until the 16:02 mark.
By that time, the careless Bluejays were hanging on for dear life to a 33-30 lead after a 7-0 Ranger spurt cut the lead to 31-30.
NWOSU took its first and only lead of the game, 38-37, with just under 9:00 left on a Melissa Jones basket.
Six foot post LaTasha Townsend scored eight points while pulling down a team-high five rebounds, ending nearly a 6:00 minute scoring lapse with the go-ahead basket that gave the Bluejays a 39-38 lead.
The Rangers encountered a scoring lapse of their own as Tabor increased its lead to 43-38 with a quartet of free throws.
The Bluejays hit a respectable 13 for 20 from the charity line for the night with all but five free throws coming in the game's closing 7:10.
Stucky drove the nail in the Rangers' coffin with 32 seconds to go, making it a three possession game with an unguarded basket, which left Ranger coach Todd Clark fuming.
Already saddled with one technical, Clark's second got him ejected with :27 left.
A trio of free throws by Emmert matched the Bluejays largest lead of the evening, 58-47.
Taking care of the ball remains a key for the Bluejays' success.
"That's one of our primary emphasis on the offensive end," Allen said. "Taking care of the basketball. It was a little bit better job than Friday night, but in no way satisfactory.
"We're not going to beat real good teams with that kind of ball handling. We're going to have to get the turnovers down to 10 or 12 or we're not going to beat anybody that is real good."
The Bluejays host Baker Saturday in a 5 p.m. start.
Tabor gets a rematch Monday with the Kansas Wesleyan Lady Jets with game-time slated for 7:30 p.m. in Hillsboro.
The Jets dealt the shorthanded Bluejays a 49-44 heartbreaker in Tabor's season opener Nov. 12 in Wichita.
