McPherson, Kansas – The McPherson Bulldogs Women’s Basketball team fought off a late comeback from Midland University to secure a 72-69 win on Friday afternoon, earning their third win of the season.
Basics
Location: Jim’s Appliances of Inman Court
Records: MC 3-2 (0-0 KCAC), MU 1-2 (0-0 GPAC)
Score: MC 72, MU 69
How it Happened
The Bulldogs came out hot right out of the gate, with Maizy Gillam draining a three-pointer to open scoring for McPherson. Gillam hit another triple a few minutes later, followed by a three from Antonia Barreto on the next possession to take an 11-4 lead. The Warriors responded with a three-pointer of their own before the Bulldogs scored 10 consecutive points to take a 14-point advantage with 2:20 left to play in the first quarter. Gillam hit a jumper at the buzzer to give McPherson a 26-10 lead going into the second quarter. The Bulldogs finished an impressive 5-of-7 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter.
Margaret Ajayi kicked off the second quarter for the Bulldogs with a layup assisted by Yagmur Rain Canguven. Desiree Perez hit yet another three for McPherson to give the Bulldogs a 33-14 advantage. A free throw from Ajayi a minute later would give McPherson a 20-point lead, their largest of the game. In the final 6:20 of the first half, Midland went on an 18-4 run to cut McPherson’s lead to just six points at halftime, 38-32.
The Warriors scored the first points out of the break, but the Bulldogs would get their lead back up to 13 points at the 6:43 mark of the third quarter after a steal from Barreto led to a layup for Anisa Longs. Renlee Longenbaugh drained a three-pointer with 1:43 left to play in the third quarter to give McPherson a 20-point lead once again. Midland ended the quarter with five points to make the score 61-46 going into the final period.
The Warriors opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and slowly chipped away at McPherson’s lead, cutting it to 66-61 at the 6:37 mark with another triple. Midland cut the Bulldogs’ lead to just three points, but McPherson held off the comeback to secure a 72-69 victory.
Barreto went 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for 17 points to lead the Bulldogs offensively. Longs was right behind with 15 points and Gillam added 13. Canguven had a team-high five rebounds and Canguven, Longs, and Gillam each led McPherson with three assists. Barreto also recorded two steals for the Bulldogs. McPherson made 27-of-53 field goals for 50.9 percent and was 9-of-23 from beyond the arc for 39.1 percent, while Midland was 24-of-53 from the floor for 45.3 percent and finished 10-of-28 on three-pointers for 35.7 percent. The Bulldogs made 9-of-21 free throws for 42.9 percent and the Warriors were 11-of-16 from the line for 68.8 percent.
Up Next
The Bulldogs travel to Bethany, Oklahoma on Saturday, November 7 to take on Louisiana State University Shreveport at 2:30 p.m.
