Coyote women rout Bethel 68-47 for first KCAC win
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Kansas Wesleyan’s Women’s Basketball team got its first KCAC win of the season in convincing fashion, routing the Bethel Threshers 68-47 on Thursday night at Muir Gym.

It was also the home opener in KCAC play for the Coyotes, who had played just one previous contest at home, a 70-62 loss to Mount Marty (S.D.) on December 15.

Wesleyan got solid efforts from three players, led by Kaylaen Dittmer, who had 16 points, while Tierra Baldwin scored 15 and Emily Luckeroth posted 11 to go along with seven rebounds to help the Coyotes to the big win.

Bethel’s Angela Wood got the first points of the game on a three, but the Coyotes answered back quickly, using an 8-0 run to take an 8-3 lead with 16:51 to go in the first half.

After Bethel would cut the lead to three, Wesleyan would open things up with a 14-4 run capped by a Charressa Gray bucket with 9:01 to go in the first, making it 22-9. The run featured an amazing shot by KWU’s Khristy Santee to beat the shot clock. With Wesleyan leading 12-7, Kelli Berg would throw a pass out to the top of the key that Santee misplayed, but she retreated and grabbed it at the volleyball attack line on the floor and fired a turn around shot from there that touched nothing but nylon as the shot clock buzzer sounded.

The Coyotes would continue their pressure that forced 27 Bethel turnovers on the night that turned into 23 KWU points, building their lead to 23, 39-16, on a Jennie Vopat bucket with 34 seconds to go in the first half.

Bethel struggled to find the basket in the first 20 minutes, connecting on just 3-of-21 shots from the field for 14.2 percent.

The Threshers would get the lead back under 20 points at the 18:40 mark when Rachel Bachman would score to make it 41-22, but Wesleyan would quickly answer with an 8-2 run to take its biggest lead of the night to that point at 25 points, at 49-24 on a Baldwin free throw.

Hannah Blackburn would get Bethel within 21 at 49-28 with 14:44 left, when Wesleyan would use another big run to take a 27-point lead, its biggest of the night, on a bucket by Madison Askins with 10:27 to go, off a perfect pass from Baldwin.

Bethel (8-6, 2-3) would score five straight capped by a Amanda Hiebert free throw, but Wesleyan would answer back, pushing the lead back out to 27 points three more times, the last coming at the 3:31 mark on a Dittmer bucket to cruise into the win.

Dittmer’s 16 led Wesleyan (4-10, 1-3), while Baldwin and Luckeroth were the only other two KWU players in double figures as Wesleyan shot 25-of-57 from the field for 43.9 percent. Luckeroth’s seven boards led the Coyotes, while Baldwin pitched in six and Vopat and Gray each added five. LaCole Wilkinson led the way with six assists, while Luckeroth added five, and Wilkinson had five steals to lead the Coyotes.

Blackburn led Bethel with 16 points, while Hiebert added 11 as the Threshers were just 16-of-49 from the field for 32.7 percent, including a cold 1-for-11 from behind the three point line for 11.1 percent. Blackburn also led the Threshers with nine rebounds.

Wesleyan heads to Leavenworth to play Saint Mary on Saturday at 5 p.m., before returning home for two straight at home starting next Wednesday against Sterling and against Friends on Saturday inside Muir Gym.

-- KWU SI --