McPHERSON, Kan. – McPherson College Women’s Basketball finished victorious in their first game of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 28, defeating Hesston 81-79 at Holman Fieldhouse to snap a 29-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs’ last win was in Winfield on Feb. 24, 2024 against Southwestern. That was the second-to-last game in a season in which McPherson ended the season 7-21.
The following season, McPherson did not win a single game, finishing their record at 0-28.
McPherson College decided to hire a new head coach. After a period of an extended search, McPherson decided their new guy to lead the Bulldogs’ Women’s Basketball team: Alex Moorehead.
The new “Head Dog” arrived in McPherson with a track record of program building and success. After a productive four years at Ave Maria University, which saw the Gyrenes have just eight wins the season before his arrival, then average 16 wins per season under his tenure, Moorehead took his talents to a team in South Central Kansas that did not win a single game the season prior.
Despite the winless season, Moorehead knew McPherson had a winning culture and community. “I feel like it’s a place you can win,” Moorehead said. “The community is very tight-knit, and there’s a great alumni base. It checked the boxes.” Moorehead also noted that he is an Oklahoma City native, which brings him closer to his family than he was when in Ave Maria, Fla.
McPherson’s season officially began on Tuesday, Oct. 28, which came against a Hesston College team that was only in its second game since transitioning from a two-year to a four-year program. Moorehead knew that before going into the game, the winning mentality must start within the team, both on and off the court. “You start with the bare bones of everything, establishing your expectations and your standards, and building a good cultural situation where the young ladies feel empowered,” Moorehead said. “There’s a lot of good basketball that’s played in the KCAC and in the Midwest, so I felt like it was a great challenge to take and I definitely feel like you can win here.” The new coach also noted the fan support, mentioning how he has seen the student and fan support for the nationally ranked Women’s Volleyball and Football teams.
And boy, did the fan support show up in the Bulldogs’ first game of the 2025-26 season.
McPherson and Hesston kept the game close in the first half, but the Larks pulled away in the third quarter, leading by as many as 12 points. That did not stop the fight in the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs were able to turn it around, playing most of their roster, but with some familiar faces. In a day and age where college basketball tends to see very few returners with a new coach, McPherson’s case was different. Moorehead says it’s because the team believes in how they can turn the program around. “It says a lot about their intention,” Moorehead said. “It says that they chose McPherson, not necessarily because of athletics, but because of everything that the college provides.”
Moorehead added to that sentiment, saying the staff that he brought in has tried to relay the message of belief in the program. “The message that we had to the team is that there is enough here for the individuals that returned to be successful,” Moorehead said. “I think [the players] bought in from day one. It’s exciting to see them invested in that message.”
That message rang clear on Tuesday. McPherson started bringing themselves back into the fight. What was once a 12-point deficit soon became 10. Then eight. Then six. Then four.
Then, with less than a minute left, just two.
A lot of that spark was thanks to one key returner, Olivia Bell, who had a team-high 21 points. However, a lot of the heroics came down to Reaghan Borman.
The Bulldogs trailed by four points with just one minute remaining. 79-75. Borman, who had not scored up to that point (in fact, she shot 0/4 up to that moment), drove into the lane to hit a layup with 48 seconds remaining. 79-77. Hesston with a chance to extend their lead, but they turned the ball over.
A chance to tie or win.
Borman took it into her hands again, driving inside to hit a right-handed scoop layup to tie the game at 79. Holman Fieldhouse was the loudest it had been all day, but that spike would only last for mere seconds. After Hesston called a timeout, they tried to win the game.
However, Borman saw an opportunity with the ball thrown her way. She tipped and stole the ball, trying to drive coast-to-coast for the game-winning shot. She would end up drawing a hard foul, which would be called a Flagrant I foul, which meant two free throws and possession for McPherson. She calmly swished home both free throws. McPherson’s first win in 615 days was in their grasp.
Hesston needed to foul McPherson immediately to put them back at the line. But it turned out, that was not needed. They stole the inbounds pass and had a shot to tie or win. Their game-winning shot came up short. Borman rebounded the ball. The buzzer sounded.
615 days of frustration were finally over. The McPherson College student section stormed the court, knowing what had just occurred. The Bulldogs had won.
Now, that was just the first game of the season. There are other opportunities for McPherson to keep the momentum moving forward as they aim for the start of a new era.
