BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The second road trip of the season proved to be even more successful than the last, as the Lady Bluejays made the trek south to Bartlesville, Okla. to take on the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles in the 2024-25 conference opener on Saturday.
 
Tabor bounced back from a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Bellevue University in the finale of the 2024 Tabor Classic, handing the Eagles their fourth straight loss, and their second loss of the season inside Mueller Sports Center by a score of 79-62.
 
Oklahoma Wesleyan jumped on the board first courtesy of a jumper in the paint by Shade Richardson, but Alyvia Owens quickly dropped in the answer for the Lady Bluejays with a layup of her own. Miyah McGee's fastbreak layup helped Tabor begin to break away from OKWU in the first quarter, putting them up by six, 15-9. A layup by Richardson cut TC's lead to four before McGee pushed the lead back out to six. Ivy Preusser drained a three to give Tabor an 11-point lead, their largest lead of the quarter, before a layup by OKWU's Haley Meely cut the lead to nine as time ran out, giving the Bluejays the 23-14 advantage going into the second quarter.
 
The 2^nd quarter saw the Eagles come back within six points, but a late Bluejay run courtesy of another Preusser three, and a Kassidy Beam jumper gave TC a 12-point lead heading into halftime, 43-31.
 
A layup by Beam put the Bluejays in front by 14 at the start of the second half, creating the largest gap in scoring up to that point. The Eagles provided a good scare late in the 3^rd quarter, narrowing the gap to just two with 2:48 remaining. Tabor carried the narrow lead into the 4^th quarter, 59-55.
 
It looked like a whole Bluejay team came out of the quarter break, as Owens quickly put TC back up by six, followed by another layup from McGee, with a three by Lillie Veer extended the lead to 11 at the 8:30 mark. Oklahoma Wesleyan looked to claw their way back into the contest and to their credit they kept on fighting. Veer added another layup, followed by an Alyvia Owens three, but the nail in the coffin came by way of a signature Kassidy Beam three, giving Tabor the 17-point victory in hostile territory.
 
"It was a tremendous hard-fought win over a very talented OKWU team on the road. Things got a little shaky in the third quarter, but we buckled down defensively late and that allowed us to secure an important road win to start KCAC play", remarked Head Coach Shawn Reed.
 
"Offensively, I was very pleased with our performance. I thought our shot selection was solid, and I liked the three-point shots we took. Our posts were efficient, and I would like to see them get more touches, but OKWU made that difficult tonight."
 
"Although it was an important win, we have no time to celebrate. We play our second straight road game at Ottawa on Wednesday against a very talented and improved Braves team."
 
Lillie Veer led the Lady Bluejay offense, pouring in 21 points and shooting an impressive 81.8% (9-11) from the field, while Alyvia Owens (15), Ivy Preusser (14), and Kassidy Beam (10) also finished in double figures. Beam and Miyah McGee led Tabor on defense, with Beam pulling down six defensive boards and McGee pulling down two and snagging two steals.
 
With the win, the Lady Bluejays improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in KCAC play as they look to improve those records yet again with a trip to Ottawa on Wednesday to take on the Ottawa University Braves.
 
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
 
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).