by WINFIELD, Kan. Looking to extend their winning streak to four straight, Tabor made the trek south to Winfield to face the Lady Moundbuilders of Southwestern College. This was the first time facing Southwestern this season and Tabor didn’t waste any time recording the convincing 68-46 victory.
Southwestern’s only lead of the night was short lived as they made an opening possession three point shot. Kasey Rice (Pawnee) began her outstanding night by tying the score on the Bluejays’ opening possession. Zoe Shieldnight (JR/Gore, Okla.)’s two free throws just a minute and a half later gave Tabor the lead for good.
Midway through the opening period, Lexi Wall (SO/Mounds, Okla.) gave Tabor their first double-digit lead of the night with a three of her own off the assist by Sammy Jo Peterson (SR/Cottonwood Falls, Kan.). Tabor led 13-3 and was in control early.
A Moundbuilder basket with 3:15 in the quarter cut Tabor’s lead to six points (13-7) and neither team would find the rim again and the quarter ended with the Bluejays up by six.
Rice started the second quarter like she did the game, connecting from beyond the arc and the Bluejay lead was back to nine (16-7). Tabor’s biggest lead of the opening half of 15 points came on two different occasions during the second quarter. Shieldnight scored two of her 10 points with 4:51 left in the half to put Tabor up 26-11. Their other 15 point (28-13) advantage came courtesy of a Laney Scott (SO/St. George, Kan.) basket with just two and a half to go in the first half.
Southwestern ended the half on a 5-0 run to bring the score to 28-18 in favor of Tabor at the break.
The home team seemed to find some life to start the second 20 minutes of play as they scored the first four points, narrowing Tabor’s lead to just six (28-22) once again. The Bluejays used a 24-5 run to close out the quarter and take a commanding 52-27 lead into the final period.
Eight different Bluejays scored during the run. Tabor used the entire quart to put points on the board. Three shots from beyond the arc were recorded by three different players, two buckets accounted for four points inside, and Tabor recorded 11 points on 12 attempts from the free throw line.
The final period was a formality as Tabor controlled the last 10 minutes of play, extending their lead to 26 (59-33), their biggest of the night on two Alyvia Owens (FR/Hutchinson, Kan.) free throws, with 6:37 left to play. The Builders cut Tabor’s lead to 20 twice over the last three minutes but a two point shot by Hannah Gilmore (SR/Cedaredge, Colo.) ended the scoring for both teams, giving Tabor the impressive 68-46 road win.
Head Coach Shawn Reed liked what he saw from his defense. “Defensively I felt we were solid. We forced 26 turnovers and limited their three-point opportunities. That produced 32 points for us which is tremendous. Our posts did a solid job of battling some very big interior players from Southwestern and we held all of their posts to single digit scoring.”
The offense was clicking as well for the Bluejays. “Offensively I thought we moved the ball effectively against their zone which produced some good opportunities. Obviously, it helps when you make 10 threes and shoot 46% from behind the arc.”
Tabor had some outstanding individual play also. “Kasey Rice had a fabulous game and shot the ball tremendously. She is an amazing shooter! It was also good to see Laney Scott and Lexi Wall each hit multiple shots from behind the arc.”
The Bluejay reserves continue to produce for Reed’s squad. “I was very pleased with our bench. Our depth continues to be a huge advantage for us and tonight we outscored Southwestern’s bench 25 to 11. Being able to play a lot of people will be a tremendous advantage for us moving forward.”
