Poor second half dooms Lady Coyotes against Avila
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Through the first 20 minutes, Kansas Wesleyan controlled the tempo, and led 37-28 at the half. The second half was a different story, as Avila came back and grabbed a 59-56 win over the Coyotes at Muir Gym on Wednesday.

The Coyotes were nearly as hot as the summer-like temperatures outside, shooting 42.9 percent from the field in the first half, and scoring 37 points. The Coyotes also forced 12 first half turnovers by the Eagles, which turned into 15 Wesleyan points.

The second half was a different story. Kaylaen Dittmer gave the Coyotes a nine-point advantage with 18:26 left, but that was the biggest the lead would get, as Avila slowly whittled down the advantage, tying the game at 49-all with 3:08 left on a three by Sarah Parker. After a Dittmer bucket, Parker would hit another three to give Avila its first lead with 2:20 left.

The biggest bugaboo for the Coyotes in the second half seemed to be their shooting. The Coyotes only connected on 8-of-30 shots in the second frame, for 26.7 percent.

Avila would take a seven point lead with 44 seconds left on a pair of Parker free throws, but an Ascendra Peters score, and a Sarah Montoya three would cut the lead to three with 29 seconds left. Parker had a chance to seal the win for Avila at the line with 13 seconds left, but missed two free throws, and Montoya’s three at the buzzer was no good.

The Coyotes took an early 4-0 lead scoring off of two Avila turnovers, and held the lead until Parker’s three with 14:21 left tied things at 6-all. After a Ascendra Peters put back, Caitlan Stephenson would tie things up again at 8-all with 13:27 in the first, before Wesleyan would outscore the Eagles 29-15 over the next 11-plus minutes to take a 37-23 lead with 1:57 left.

Dittmer led the Coyotes with 17 points, while Montoya and Jentri Dixon each had 11 for the Coyotes, who shot 35.4 percent from the field for the game, including the 26.7 percent figure in the second half. Dixon and Kayli Kauzlarich led the Coyotes with six rebounds each, while Ascendra Peters had five.  Wesleyan did only commit 10 turnovers, while forcing 20 by Avila.

Avila was led by Parker with a game high 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including 5-for-11 from three point range.  Lauren McCarthy added 12 and Stephenson had 10 for the Eagles. Stephenson pulled down eight boards while Parker had six to lead the Eagles.

Wesleyan (0-4) is off until next Tuesday when the Coyotes travel to Manhattan to play Manhattan Christian at 6:00 PM.

-- KWU SI --