Lady Coyotes drop second straight to Southwestern 66-53
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

This time there was no 26-0 hole to climb out of. Kaylaen Dittmer tied things up at 2-all early, but a 7-0 Southwestern run put the Lady ‘Builders up for good as they never trailed, en route to a 66-53 win over Kansas Wesleyan on Thursday night at Stewart Fieldhouse in Winfield.

Jenna Wilson scored four of Southwestern’s seven during the run. The Coyotes fought back, as Jentri Dixon connected to break the run, and spark a 5-0 Wesleyan answer, as she scored all five points to get the Coyotes back within two with 15:12 left in the first half.

Southwestern’s offense exploded again, outscoring Wesleyan 12-2 over the next three minutes to take a 12-point lead, 21-9 with 12:10 left. The Coyotes fought back, getting within three at 26-23 with 3:23 left on a Charressa Gray free throw, but could get no closer the rest of the half, as the ‘Builders pulled out to a 33-25 lead at the half.

Wesleyan (6-15, 2-9) scored the first four points of the second half, to get back within four at 33-29, before Southwestern would regain a seven-point lead with 16:45 left on a three by Ileana Perez.

The Coyotes didn’t fade away, they got back within three, forcing three straight ‘Builder turnovers, as Gray made the score 40-37 with 13:01 left. Cortney Gandy would answer for Southwestern, as they went on an 11-2 run to regain a 12-point advantage with 8:15 left on a Wilson bucket.

The Coyotes would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way, at 61-51 with 2:47 left before the ‘Builders would take their biggest lead at 15, 66-51, with 1:28 left. Dixon would score the final points with 8.2 seconds left as Southwestern came away with the 66-53 win.

Ascendra Peters would lead the Coyotes with 15 points, while Gray added 11 and Dixon had 10 as the Coyotes shot 37.3 percent from the field on 19-of-51 shooting. Peters also had eight boards to lead the Coyotes and Dixon added five.

Gandy would lead Southwestern () with 18 off the bench, while Perez had 13 for the ‘Builders, as they shot 24-of-56 from the field for 42.9 percent. Perez grabbed nine rebounds and Gandy had eight as the ‘Builders outrebounded Wesleyan 42-27.

The Coyotes return to action Saturday as the Coyotes host arch-rival Bethany in Muir Gym. Wesleyan pummeled the Lady Swedes in their meeting earlier this season 63-42. It was the first time the Coyotes had beaten Bethany since the 1995 season.

-- KWU SI --