HILLSBORO, Kan. — The Bluejays are back in action after playing the Friends Falcons on Saturday, Feb. 17th for senior night. The ladies host Kansas Wesleyan with hopes of staying the number one seed in the conference.
Head Coach Shawn Reed said, "Honestly, that was one of the best performances by our team since I have been at Tabor. We played really well at both ends of the court and I am really proud of them. Our players were extremely focused tonight and they executed at a very high level almost the entire game. As a coach, you want your team to perform at a high level at the end of the season in meaningful games and I couldn't have asked for more from them tonight."
The starting five for the Bluejays included Ja'Neysha Hendrick, Teegan Werth, Kassidy Beam, Madie McCoy, and Alyvia Owens.
The Bluejays started off the first quarter on a good note and never let up. The ladies were able to make stops defensively against the Coyotes, 21-10. Coach Reed said, "In the first quarter, we got off to a great start on the offensive end. I thought we moved the ball well and our effort on the defensive end was also very solid. To jump out to a 21-10 lead after the first quarter was really important in setting the tone for the game."
The ladies had a great offensive and defensive in the second quarter against KWU. The Bluejays held the Coyotes to only three points, 47-13. "The second quarter was one of the most complete quarters we have played all year. To hold a team with KWU's firepower to 3 points in ten minutes and 7% shooting takes a total team effort and I was extremely pleased with how well we played defensively. We also were really efficient offensively and our three-point shooting was outstanding during that stretch," explained Reed.
In the third quarter, the Bluejays gave the Coyotes more chances to score but still found the open shots, 69-29. "We knew the third quarter would be challenging. I have a ton of respect for Coach Showman and I knew he would have his team ready to go after halftime. We fouled too much early in the third quarter and that really hurt us defensively but we made up for it at the offensive end," expressed Coach.
The Bluejays wrapped up the game with a big win, 86-38. Coach Reed stated, "In the fourth quarter, we were able to open up our bench a little and play more kids than normal which was nice. I was really proud that our intensity and attention to detail remained strong throughout the game and I thought our bench was terrific again tonight. To have our bench outscore KWU 42-14 was a major factor in the victory. I was also pleased that we only had seven turnovers the entire night and nobody on the team had more than one turnover."
"We play at McPherson on Saturday and we will need to be ready to go. We lost at McPherson last year and traditionally it has been a tough place for us to play. Coach Nichols has been at Mac a long time and he does a great job with his team. We will be playing to secure the conference regular season championship so it will be an important game with a lot at stake," wrapped up Coach Reed.
The Bluejays overall record is now 23-4 and 20-1 in the KCAC. The ladies last regular season game will be in McPherson, Kansas against the McPherson Bulldogs at 5 p.m.
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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).
