TABOR: Lady 'Jays stumble at Classic
Tabor women fall to Concordia, Langston
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Going winless through your own tournament is not necessarily a step backward.
Especially when it's against good athletic teams like Friday night's opponent, the top-ranked Concordia (Neb.) Lady Bulldogs and Saturday's Langston Lions.
Lady Bluejay coach Rusty Allen seemed to look at the bleak weekend his team had as an ideal tune-up for what figures to be an exciting year in the KCAC.
Tabor fell to 6-7 on the season, falling to the Bulldogs and Lions by 76-55 and 61-60 margins.
"(They were) two really good athletic teams, but two very different teams," Allen said. "Concordia, while they're athletic, they're not nearly as athletic as Langston, but they are so well-disciplined and fundamentally sound.
"Langston, you go against them and they're so big and so quick. I think it's a great tune-up for conference play."
Two different teams meant two different games, and that was just what it was for the Bluejays.
One thing that remained a flaw for Tabor in both games was its ability to guard the three-point basket as Concordia and Langston both bombed the Bluejays from behind the arc.
The Bluejays guarded the three better the second half, limiting Langston to three for 15 after posting a blistering 54 percent from both the field and outside in the first half.
Langston's long-range shooting was instrumental in taking a 38-32 lead at halftime.
The taller guard tandem of Patrice Simms and Veronica Austin furnished the Lions with half of their first-half points, 14 coming off triples.
Rachelle Wertenberger gave the Bluejays their biggest lead of the night, 9-5, with a field goal 4:10 into the game.
But the Lions soon took the lead for good, pulling in front 10-9 on a Syretha Penn score with just under 15:00 to go in the first half as part of a 10-0 run.
A pair of near 2:00 scoring droughts by the Bluejays helped the Lions drain 10 more unanswered points, stretching their lead to 30-17.
Shannon Kroeker sparked a 10-0 run for Tabor, which helped whittle the lead to 33-29 after a LaTasha Townsend- basket.
Jill Hein canned a three just inside 2:00 to go in the first half, pulling Tabor to 38-32, the final points either team could manage before halftime.
While the Lions lived by the three the first half, Tabor died by it, mustering a slim two for 11 and three for 17 for the night.
Fresh off a 30-point performance the previous night against tonight's Bluejay opponent Ottawa, Cynthia Hogg was held scoreless the first half by Casey Stucky.
A legitimate NCAA Div. I player who started out her career at the University of Kansas, the 6'3" Hogg was harassed by Stucky all night, finishing with just seven points.
Stucky had a career night for Tabor, snaring 17 of the Bluejays' 44 rebounds to go along with her game-high 17 points.
"Casey probably played the best game of her career tonight," Allen said. "That was against a player that is a legitimate NCAA Division I player."
The Lions appeared to be on their way to blowing out the Bluejays the second half, taking off on a 9-2 run to push their lead to 49-34, due in part to a 4:00 scoring lapse by Tabor.
In nearly a minute, Stucky scored five points to shrink the lead to 49-41 with 13:38 to go.
Langston managed a lone field goal in the closing 7:08 with Stucky tying the game at 60-60 with barely over 1:00 left.
Hogg's free throw broke the tie with one second left, and the Bluejays were unable to get the ball past midcourt for a desperation shot.
Tabor opens KCAC play tonight at home against the Ottawa Lady Braves at 6 p.m.
The Braves outlasted the Lions 70-66 in Friday night's game.
Concordia
Trailing then-second-ranked Concordia 26-20 at halftime in Friday's first game of the Tabor Classic, the Bluejays collapsed as the Bulldogs pulled away the second half on their way to a 76-55 win.
Tabor's perimeter defense allowed Concordia 23 percent from downtown the first half, but the Bulldogs hit the gas the second half with the help of 21 points in threes.
The Bluejays endured a chilly night all the way around, hitting 30 percent from the floor, 15 percent from three-point range and 67 percent at the line.
