No. 20 Lady Bluejays too much for KWU years ago
Tabor rides quick start to trounce Lady Coyotes, 88-68
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
One thing that Lady Bluejay coach Rusty Allen has yet to get from the Kansas Wesleyan Lady Coyotes during his tenure is a competitive game.
A team fighting desperately to stay out of the KCAC basement, the Coyotes rarely are a challenge for the Bluejays.
That changed Saturday night with KWU proving anybody can come back on a team that lets down its guard.
Luckily for the Bluejays, a quick start and a potent full-court press thwarted any chance of the Coyotes (2-11, 1-5 KCAC) knocking them off as Tabor prevailed, 88-68.
The win still leaves the Bluejays in a three-way tie for the top spot in the KCAC at 5-1 and 11-4 overall with Sterling and Friends.
Wesleyan was powerless to stop the Bluejays as they bolted out to a 6-0 lead on its first two possessions.
Hardly 4:00 into action, the Bluejays were in front 16-5 after Erica Hemmert canned a jumper at the 15:56 mark.
The Coyotes' Ashley Coker didn't let the Bluejays blow the lid off just yet, though, supplying six points to help KW cut the lead to 18-11.
Coker scored a team-high 16 points, hitting 4-of-6 at the free throw line and 6-for-14 from the floor.
Things really started clicking and the Bluejays began to pull away, courtesy of a harassing press defense.
"I think that was our best half of the season offensively," Allen said. "We played well together. We passed the ball well and we made good decisions when to press for transition baskets and when to execute offense."
Hard to argue when you shoot a blistering 59 percent from the floor, 4-for-7 from outside and 11-for-13 at the free throw line.
"When you shoot almost 60 percent from the field, that always helps your confidence and momentum," said Allen.
Six points was as close as the Coyotes could get, 20-14, before the flood gates opened on them.
Trailing 30-21 with 9:15 left in the first half, Tabor outscored the Coyotes 16-3 in a six-minute span to take a commanding 46-24 lead with 3:33 left before halftime.
With a 49-30 lead at the break, maintaining composure was not easy.
The Bluejays couldn't quite duplicate the quick start in the second half.
Midway through the second half, aided by a 16-4 run, the Coyotes clawed their way back into the game, down 59-50.
That was closer than Allen cared for the score to be, so he solved the problem by calling for a full-court press.
"The game was in danger, but I don't want to loose the rhythm and the focus of our team," he said. "We needed to create momentum with it (press) again and it really worked more effectively the second half than it did in the first half. We have better depth and they're tired.
"I tip my hat to their team for the level of ability they have, they played a great game."
Erica Dechant snapped a 3:25 scoring lapse with a triple, pushing Tabor's lead back to double digits, 62-50 with 10:00 left and the Coyotes never threatened again.
Kelly Pavlik scored a season-high 19 points, getting a three and a free throw, stretching the lead to 15.
Stacie Herman added 12, sinking a three at the 5:38 point to make it a comfy 76-57 game.
Donya Anderson and Hemmert scored 13 and 11, respectively with Nicole Ellis pulling down a team-high six rebounds to go along with eight points.
Anderson's bucket with just over 3:30 left gave Tabor its largest lead of the contest, 83-60.
Making matters worse for the Coyotes, they spotted Tabor 31 points off 22 turnovers.
Up next for the Bluejays is a 6 p.m. meeting in Hillsboro tonight with the Bethany Lady Swedes.
One of the three conference leaders will have either fallen or will fall Saturday as the Bluejays travel to 13th-ranked Sterling for a 5 p.m. showdown against the KCAC bully Lady Warriors.
HHS grads receive
KU scholarships
Two Hillsboro High School graduates received endowment scholarships from the University of Kansas during the 2004 fall semester.
Jacqueline Grunau, daughter of Charles Grunau of Hillsboro, received a Frederick T. Holden Scholarship. She is a senior, earning a bachelor of art degree in anthropology.
Sara Raugust, daughter of Daniel and Susan Janzen, received a Walgreens Pharmacy Scholarship. She is earning a pharmacy degree.
