Spires shoot way past Coyotes 76-63
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

LEAVENWORTH – Saint Mary shot 58 percent in the second half, including 71.4 percent from behind the arc as they rallied from a seven point halftime deficit and came away with a 76-63 win over Kansas Wesleyan on Saturday night at the Ryan Sports Center.

Kaylaen Dittmer got the scoring started with a bucket at the 18:50 mark to put Wesleyan up 2-0. Both teams would trade baskets back and forth over the first ten minutes of the half when the Coyotes would blow things open.

Charressa Gray would convert a three to tie things up at 14-all with 10:24 left, sparking what would turn out to be a 10-0 to take a 21-14 lead with 7:45 to go.

The Coyotes would push their lead to eight at 28-20 on a Emily Luckeroth free throw with 5:13 left in the  first half. Saint Mary would rally, behind a pair of Lacy Leonard free throws and a three from Liz Gillespie to get back within three at 28-25 with 3:11 left.

Wesleyan (4-11, 1-4) would answer back on the heels of an 8-2 run to take a 36-26 lead with 1:06 left. Gillespie would close the first half scoring on a three with 10 ticks to go to send the teams to the break with a 36-29 Wesleyan advantage.

Saint Mary (6-7, 1-4) would open the second half on a 7-2 run to get within two with 16:59 left at 38-36 on a bucket by Addie Heim. The Coyotes would push back out to a four point lead, taking that advantage three times before Saint Mary would make its run.

Gillespie would hit a three to give the Spires their first lead of the second half with 10:51 left, and Janae Garcia would push the advantage out to three with 10:16 left. Wesleyan would get within one point at 51-50 at the eight minute mark, before the Spires would score seven unanswered to take a 58-50 lead with 5:46 to go.

Luckeroth would convert to cut the Saint Mary lead to four at 58-54 with 4:38 to go, when Saint Mary would make its final push. Jamie Mireles would score on a put back sparking a 12-2 Spire run to give them a 70-56 lead with 1:30 left.

Mireles would finish the scoring with 11 seconds left giving Saint Mary the 76-63 win.

Luckeroth would have 19 to lead Wesleyan, while Dittmer added 10 as the only two Coyotes in double figures. Wesleyan was just 22-of-59 from the field for 37.3 percent in the game, including a dismal 3-of-16 effort from long range. Gray and Dittmer shared top rebounding honors with six apiece.

Saint Mary was led by Gillespie with 22 points, while Leonard added 18 as the Spires had four players score in double figures. The Spires shot 24-of-47 from the field for 51.1 percent in the game including a 58.3 percent effort in the second half. Heim had seven boards to lead the Spires, who outrebounded Wesleyan 33-31 in the game.

The Coyotes are off until Wednesday, when they host Sterling at 6 p.m. inside Muir Gym. Wesleyan then takes on Friends on Saturday at home.

-- KWU SI --