Lady Coyotes give up second straight halftime lead, fall to Tabor
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

HILLSBORO – Kansas Wesleyan held the no.9 ranked Tabor Lady Bluejays scoreless for the first 11:16 of the game, but were outscored by 16 in the second half, as the Coyotes lost 63-52 on Saturday night at Tabor Gym.

Wesleyan jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game. Jentri Dixon hit the first points, a pair of free throws with 17:29 left in the half. The Coyotes led 8-0 on a bucket by Dixon with 15:34 left in the half, before both teams were held scoreless for six minutes and 23 seconds until Ascendra Peters knocked down a shot on the right wing to give Wesleyan the 10-0 lead.

Tabor missed its first 12 shots from the field, and only shot 15.4 percent on 4-of-26 shooting in the first 20 minutes. The Bluejays first points of the night came on a free throw by Emily Vogts with 9:44 left in the half.

Tabor got within five at 12-7 with 6:14 left on a pair of Stacie Herman free throws, but Wesleyan used a layup by Madison Askins and a bucket by Khristy Santee to go up nine, 16-7 with 4:10 to go before the half.

Askins put Wesleyan up eight with 2:15 left, putting in a rebound of a Montoya shot, but Tabor got as close as four on back-to-back baskets by Nicole Ellis and Emily Vogts with 1:20 left. Montoya answered with a three deep in the right corner with a minute left to put the Coyotes up seven, before Erin Runge got Tabor within five at 21-16 with 21 seconds left.

The Coyotes led 21-16 at the half.

Andrea Robinson knocked down a three to start the second half for Tabor, but Wesleyan held on, with a three point lead with 18:21 left. Robinson tied things up at 24 with a three with 17:58 left, sparking a 22-4 run that put Tabor up 15, 43-28, with 12:08 left in the game.

Bad news for the Coyotes, Dittmer was hit in the nose with 16:11 left, and did not return.

The Coyotes didn’t fade into the night. The Coyotes got back within seven, at 51-44 with 3:01 left, but could get no closer, as Tabor held on for the 63-52 win.

Peters led Wesleyan (5-11, 1-5) with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Santee added 12 and Dixon had 10. The Coyotes shot 32.1 percent from the field, connecting on 18-of-56 shots. Montoya also added six rebounds for the Coyotes.

Robinson led Tabor (14-1, 6-0) with 20, while Donya Anderson added 12. Tabor shot 35.7 percent for the game, including a 53.3 effort in the second half on 20-of-56 shooting. Emily Vogts led the Bluejays with 14 rebounds as Tabor outrebounded the Coyotes 46-33.

Wesleyan returns to action on Thursday as the Coyotes head to North Newton to face Bethel, before returning home to host McPherson next Saturday night.

-- KWU SI --