Coyotes stumble in season opener against Columbia
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Ascendra Peters scores a pair during the second half of Wednesday night's season opener against Columbia (Mo.)

Kansas Wesleyan led early, but was unable to hold on, as the Columbia Cougars pulled away in the final eight-plus minutes for a 74-53 win over the Coyotes in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday night at Muir Gym.

It took almost two minutes for either team to score, but Madison Askins scored the first points of the 2006-07 season at the 18:10 mark in the first half to put the Coyotes up 2-0. Senior Jentri Dixon then added four straight points to give the Coyotes a 6-0 lead with 16:34 to go, forcing a Columbia timeout.

Columbia, ranked no.25 in NAIA Division I, would cut the lead to 6-5 at the 14:45 mark, and would eventually take a 7-6 lead on a putback by LeAnn Fossum with 14:02 left. Both teams would trade the lead bck and forth until a Ascendra Peters steal and layup gave the Coyotes a 14-11 lead with 11:43 left in the half.

Whitney Widaman would tie things up at 16-all with a three, sparking a 9-0 Columbia run that gave the Cougars a 22-16 lead with 3:09 left in the half. The Coyotes were able to rally, and tie things back up at 27-all on a bucket by Tierra Baldwin with 36 seconds left before the half. Amber Lewellen would give the visiting Cougars a 30-27 lead at the half with a three with 21 seconds left in the half.

Lewellen would put Columbia up six with 16:30 left, at 35-29, but Wesleyan would rally getting within three with 13:20 left at 40-37 on a layup by Kaylaen Dittmer. A pair of Lewellen free throws would spark a decisive 8-0 run to put Columbia ahead 48-37 with 10:36 left.

Wesleyan could get no closer than eight at the 9:32 mark, before a 20-2 run would put Columbia ahead 68-49 with 4:11 left. The Coyotes could get no closer than 15 the rest of the way, as the Cougars finished the game with a 6-0 run to come away with the 74-53 win.

Peters led the Coyotes (0-1) with 16 points, while Khristy Santee and Jentri Dixon each had eight. Wesleyan shot 31.7 percent from the field on 20-of-63 shooting, including 0-for-12 from behind the arc. Charressa Gray led the Coyotes with seven rebounds while four other Coyotes each had four.

Lewellen led all scorers with 34 points, while Widaman and Fossum each had 14 for the Cougars, who shot 35.4 percent on 28-of-79 shooting. Columbia (1-0) was led in rebounding by Fossum with nine, while Rachel Davis and Lewellen added eight each, as the Cougars won the rebounding battle 59-42.

The Coyotes are back in action this weekend in Baldwin City at the Baker University Classic. Wesleyan faces William Jewell (Mo.) on Friday at 5:30, and then faces the host Wildcats on Saturday at 4:00.

-- KWU SI --