HILLSBORO, Kan. — The Bluejays are back home after playing a week on the road. The ladies take on the Sterling College Warriors. The Warriors battled hard to keep up with the Bluejays but it just wasn't enough. Lady Jays win 65-55.

Head Coach Shawn Reed said, "It was good to get an important win at home but I wasn't pleased with our energy at points in the game, especially in the third quarter. We talked a lot at halftime about continuing to play with a high motor and we simply didn't meet our expectations in that area. You could see that in how many more offensive rebounds Sterling had in the second half and also how many 50/50 balls Sterling won. We are in the hunt for a conference championship and I was really disappointed that we couldn't play with energy when we have so much to play for. I was very proud of the productivity we got from our bench. We outscored Sterling's bench 21-2 and I felt that was a huge factor in the game. We have quality depth on this team and it was nice to see that help us again tonight."

The starting lineup for the Bluejays included senior guard Ja'Neysha Hendricks, junior guards Teegan Werth and Kassidy Beam, senior guard/forward Madie McCoy, and senior forward Alyvia Owens. 

"Defensively, we did a tremendous job of playing without fouling and I thought our transition defense was better than the first time we played at Sterling. Clason is a very good player and we struggled at times to guard her but I felt that we made her work for baskets which is important," said Reed.

In the first quarter, the Warriors were playing the Bluejays hard. Both teams were taking advantage of each possession, 14-11 Jays. The Bluejays had a good amount of momentum in the second quarter. The Bluejays were playing great defense and moving the ball well, 33-23. 

"Offensively, we had way too many turnovers. Sterling changes defenses constantly and we didn't do a great job of recognizing those changes. When a team changes defenses that often you do have to slow down and see recognize what you are facing and get into the proper offense. When we didn't turn the ball over we actually scored at a pretty high clip. However, we simply had too many turnovers and you have to give Sterling credit for causing the chaos that led to those turnovers," explained Coach. 

After the half, the Lady Jays never let up and continued to communicate in order to stay ahead, 42-35. In the fourth quarter, the ladies kept the fouls to a minimum and found the open lanes to win the game, 65-55.

"I thought Ja'Neysha, Alyvia, Lillie, and Kloe all had very productive nights shooting and Kass also hit some big buckets for us at the end of the shot clock.on numerous occasions. Madie and Teegan each had four assists and as a team, we assisted on 56% of our made baskets which was positive. We also did a great job of shooting free throws." Reed continued, "I thought our guards worked really hard on guarding their yard on the perimeter and they were put on islands a lot and were forced to guard with not much help at times. We did get some good stunts and help at times but it wasn't consistent. There are still some areas where we can improve defensively in those situations but I thought we did a good job."

"We will need to play with a lot more energy and discipline as we head to play an improved OKWU team on the road Saturday. OKWU is a tough place to play and it is one of our longer trips in our conference. OKWU is very athletic and they can put up points in bunches. It will be a very strong challenge for our team and we need to have two really good days of practice to prepare for a really important game," Coach Reed wrapped up. 

Adding another win to the Lady Bluejays record puts them at 19-4 overall and 16-1 in the conference. The ladies travel to Bartlesville, Oklahoma on Saturday, February 10 to take on Oklahoma Wesleyan University at 3 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).