LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Just two days prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, the Southwestern College women's basketball team made the long trek to Leavenworth, Kan. for a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) battle with the Spires of the University of Saint Mary. The third KCAC matchup of the season for each team was not as tightly contested as the Builders would have liked, as USM broke away to send SC home with a 68-36 defeat.

The way that the first quarter went in this game was an accurate representation of how the rest of the bout would play out. It was a disappointing offensive frame from the Moundbuilders, as they made just a single field goal on 17 shots taken in the opening stanza. The made basket came within the final minute of play in the period, and the squad put up just six points overall with four made free throws. Saint Mary was by no means dominant, though, as they went just 5-of-16 from the floor and put up 16 first-quarter points. The 16-6 advantage would send the battle into its second act.

Similar stories would be written throughout the remaining quarters, as the second frame provided a 4-of-21 shooting performance from the Lady Builders. A better 7-of-17 showing from Saint Mary gave them a 17-10 advantage over the course of the frame. The 33-16 halftime margin could have been much worse for a Builder side who only hit five of their 38 first-half attempts from the field.

Things never improved for Southwestern, though the Spires did not have an efficient third quarter themselves. The Moundbuilders struggled to the tune of a 3-of-18 shooting clip in the penultimate frame, while USM was just 6-of-19. The Moundbuilders did send in six free throws and a three-point shot in the period, as they were able to muster 13 points for their highest output of the night in a single period. They trailed the Spires by a score of 18-13 in the period, setting themselves up with a 51-29 deficit to overcome with only 10 minutes to play.

With the dismal 3-of-19 showing from Southwestern in the fourth, they failed to hit five field goals in any quarter of this battle, while going only 11-of-75 overall in the tilt. On the other side, the Spires were able to sink 50% of their shots at 7-of-14. They also hit on three three-point bombs in the quarter, while SC countered with one long-range make. A 17-7 quarter in favor of the home team ended the fight for Southwestern as their second straight game in which they scored exactly 36 points. They fell by a 68-36 final to Saint Mary.

Macey Pond and Bryanna Williams each had nine points at the top pf the Builder box score, but they shot just a combined 5-of-25 from the field. Haven Matthews was the most effective player in the game for SC, though she did not shoot often, having gone 2-of-5 from the field with five points. Matthews and Christy Wiebe each had one assist for the squad, as the only two setups by the Moundbuilders in the battle.

Madi Jones cleaned the glass well, lassoing in eight backboards on the night. She was followed by Wiebe and Matthews with six boards, and Pond with five rebounds as the group's top four rebound getters. Jones had a blocked shot in the tilt, while Pond led the team in steals with two, and Matthews, Emily McElroy and Heather Chiesi had a single steal each.

The Moundbuilders (3-6, 0-3 KCAC) were frustrated heavily offense in this matchup for the second straight time out, and will be faced with a pair of much more difficult opponents in their following two tilts. They will face the No. 10-ranked Sterling College Warriors on Monday, November 28 at 6 p.m. inside Stewart Field House, before traveling up to Hillsboro, Kan. on Thursday, December 1 at 6 p.m. to play the Tabor College Bluejays.

--buildersports.com--