McPherson, Kansas – The McPherson Bulldogs Women’s Basketball team picked up their first win of the 2026-27 season over Champion Christian College at the Central Christian College Classic on Friday afternoon.
Basics
Location: Jerry Alexander Arena
Records: MC 1-1 (0-0 KCAC), CCC 0-3 (0-0 CAC)
Score: MC 68, CCC 56
How it Happened
The Bulldogs opened the game by taking a quick 6-0 lead, with Antonia Barreto scoring on McPherson’s first possession, followed by Mariana Cubero burying a three-pointer and sinking the free throw after getting fouled. Maizy Gillam scored her first points of the afternoon at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter, giving the Bulldogs an 8-2 advantage. The Tigers slowly worked their way back, tying the game at 13-13 with 1:22 left to play in the quarter. Gillam drained a three on McPherson’s next possession to give the Bulldogs a 16-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Champion Christian opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to tie the game once again, but a free throw from Anisa Longs and triple from Amaree Henderson gave McPherson a slight 20-16 edge. The Tigers took their first lead of the game with 3:37 left in the half, going up 22-21 before adding on a pair of free throws to extend their lead to three. Yagmur Rain Canguven scored a layup at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 29-27 lead going into halftime.
Longs opened the second half with a layup after a steal from Gillam to give McPherson four-point lead. Gillam then hit two three-pointers less than a minute apart, but both were answered by threes from the Tigers to keep the game close. Renlee Longenbaugh scored a layup for McPherson, then got a steal and added another layup to give the Bulldogs a 42-37 lead halfway through the third quarter. Champion Christian continued to chip away at McPherson’s lead, cutting the Bulldog advantage to 45-43 going into the final quarter of play.
McPherson opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to take a 52-43 lead, their largest of the afternoon to that point. The Tigers, however, answered with a 9-1 run, knocking down three triples to cut the Bulldogs’ advantage to just one point. McPherson responded with 14 consecutive points to pull away and would go on to secure a 68-56 victory.
Gillam led the Bulldogs offensively with 18 points, followed by Canguven with 14 points and two assists. Margaret Ajayi recorded eight rebounds to lead the team while Barreto had three steals. McPherson made 21-of-59 field goals for 35.6 percent and was 5-of-19 from beyond the arc for 26.3 percent, while Champion Christian was 21-of-61 from the floor for 34.4 percent and finished 7-of-26 on three-pointers for 26.9 percent. The Bulldogs made 21-of-37 free throws for 56.8 percent and the Tigers were 7-of-11 from the line for 63.6 percent.
Up Next
The Bulldogs return to action in the Central Christian College Classic when they take on Mount Marty University on Saturday, October 31 at 12:00 p.m.
