STERLING, Kan. The Bluejays got a good home win the other night against Avila University. They went on the road to pull out another win against Sterling College, 76-60.
The starters included senior guard Ja'Neysha Hendricks, junior guards Teegan Werth and Kassidy Beam, senior guard/forward Madie McCoy, and senior forward Alyvia Owens.
Head Coach Shawn Reed had this to say about their performance, "Overall, it was great to go on the road and get a win over the defending KCAC Champions. I felt like we were a little shaky early on the offensive end but then settled in and started to find some openings in Sterling's zone. Defensively, we were very sound early, especially in the halfcourt, and that led to us gaining a significant advantage at halftime."
In the first quarter, the Lady Jays got off to a quick start and never looked back. Good shots were taken by multiple players to add to the score and held Sterling, 22-6. Quarter two was a great shooting game for the Warriors. Sterling played great defense and came back to cut the deficit, to 22-15 Bluejays at the half.
"Offensively, our posts and forwards had an excellent game. Sterling was playing an extended zone most of the night and that limited some opportunities for our guards but really provided some chances for our interior players to shine. Our four interior players who saw time in the game went a combined 30 of 36 (83%) and we scored 50 points in the paint", said Coach.
After the half, the ladies came out and never let up. Taking some good shots in quarter three, Tabor led 65-42. In the fourth quarter, it started off slower for both teams. Sterling had many opportunities with free throws but just couldn't get back into it, losing 76-60.
"It was a tougher night for our guards on the perimeter. We have excellent outside shooters and it was obvious that Sterling was trying to take that away. I think it was an important lesson for our players to learn. We can't choose what defense our opponents will play but we can choose how we react to it. If a team chooses to take away our three-point shooting then we need to find value in other opportunities. You can't guard everything and we have enough talent to take advantage of a lot of scenarios but that requires finding satisfaction in maybe doing something different than normal", included Coach Reed.
"I thought Maddie, Alyvia, Kloe, and Brooke all played extremely well on the offensive end. Maddie did a great job of finding opportunities for herself and others. Kloe and Alyvia were very efficient around the rim and Brooke connected on some nice mid-range opportunities. Ja'Neysha had an excellent game finding open teammates against Sterling's zone. Her eight assists led our team and provided some easy baskets for us at the rim", Coach Reed talking about his players.
"Defensively, we were solid in the half-court for the most part but I thought our transition defense was poor. We have to do a much better job of picking up early and dictating in the full-court. That is something we will be working on this week prior to the Christmas Break", stated Reed.
"Kloe had an amazing defensive game. She posted 7 blocked shots and grabbed 4 rebounds. I also thought she changed a lot of shots and she did a great job in the first half when Alyvia picked up two fouls and had to sit longer than normal", exclaimed Coach.
"Next week is finals week at Tabor which always presents a unique challenge for our team. Our players are excellent students and they invest a lot of time in their studies. Finals provide a unique challenge of not only balancing their time but also learning how to invest a good amount of mental energy into both academics and basketball is something I think players get better at as they mature. Thankfully we have a pretty veteran group so hopefully that will prove valuable", said Coach talking about the semester coming to an end.
After a win on the road, the Bluejays overall record comes to 7-2, and KCAC record to 4-0. They take on Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. in Hillsboro, Kansas.
"We have two good challenges next week as we host Oklahoma Wesleyan before traveling to North Newton to face rival Bethel. We lost at OKWU last year and they have some excellent players we will have to guard. Bethel is much improved and being coached by a Hall of Famer who has far more basketball knowledge than I do. Rocky really has his team playing well and that will be a big challenge at the end of finals week", concluded Coach Reed.
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
