LEAVENWORTH, Kan. A hard-fought win against Ottawa last Wednesday caused Tabor to have good momentum on Saturday, January 20th against the University of Saint Mary. The Bluejays went into overtime against RV Spires and put up a good fight, finishing with a win 65-63.
Head Coach Shawn Reed explained, "It was a tremendous win against a great team in a hostile atmosphere and I couldn't be more proud of our team. We entered the fourth quarter down 11 and we showed a lot of resilience to battle back and win in overtime."
The five starters included senior guard Ja'Neysha Hendricks, junior guards Teegan Worth and Kassidy Beam, senior guard/forward Madie McCoy, and senior forward Alyvia Owens.
Coach Reed said, "In the first quarter, I thought we had some really good looks but it was obvious we were a little amped up and we missed a lot of good opportunities. However, our defense was solid and we were able to stay in the game despite our offensive struggles."
A solid start for the first quarter as the Bluejays held the Spires, 9-12 St. Mary. After picking it up in the second quarter, shots for the Jays were finally falling going into half down by one point, 24-25.
"Some shots started to fall in the second quarter and we really got a lift from some of our bench players during a key stretch. I thought Kloe, Brooke, Alicia, Miyah, and Jordyn played very well in the second quarter. A special shout-out goes to our forwards who had to step in since Madie had two fouls. Our defense also remained strong during the second quarter and that helped us head into halftime trailing by one point," said Reed.
Once the Bluejays got back onto the court after the half, the ladies couldn't pull it together, the Spires got ahead with an 11-point lead, 31-42.
"The third quarter was a disaster. We only scored two field goals during that 10-minute stretch and our defensive intensity slipped and Saint Mary capitalized. USM shot 53% in the third quarter while we only managed to shoot 18% and muster only 7 points," stated Coach Reed.
The fourth quarter was when the Bluejays figured out they were still in the game and didn't give up to tie the game and take it to overtime, 57-57.
"In the fourth quarter, we really started to find some success inside with Alyvia. During that stretch, Saint Mary was experiencing some foul issues and they had a difficult time containing Alyvia. She was simply unstoppable during that stretch going 9 of 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to score 21 of her career-high 30 points during that stretch," said Reed.
"To trail by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter and to outscore our opponent 26-15 to force overtime was simply amazing. We managed to jump out to an early 5-0 lead to start overtime and despite some challenges, we found a way to hold on and win," Reed continued.
"These are the types of games our players want to be a part of and the reason they chose to be a part of our program at Tabor. I couldn't be more proud of their resilience and determination despite some serious adversity during the game and this week. It was a great game between fantastic teams and we were able to make a couple more plays and that ended up being the difference," exclaimed Coach.
"We have a big week ahead as we host Southwestern and Evangel. I think our players are excited about playing back-to-back games at home but we know each game will present different challenges we need to face and tackle if we want to be successful," finished Reed.
This win puts their record at 14-4 overall and 11-1 in the KCAC. The ladies next game will be on Wednesday, January 24th in Hillsboro, Kansas against Southwestern College.
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).
