WINFIELD, Kan. – On Saturday afternoon, the Southwestern College women's basketball squad played host to the York University Panthers inside historic Stewart Field House. The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) contest provided an opportunity for the Lady Builders to snag their first win in the 2022-23 KCAC slate, but the squad could not take advantage. York jumped out to a lead early, as SC put in strong efforts in the second and fourth quarters, but it was not enough to come back in a 77-50 loss at home.

"Tonight was a tough challenge for our team for our third game this week," said head coach Whitney Corley. "We are working through a couple injuries and played a little short-handed, but I'm proud of our group's effort down the stretch.

The Panthers displayed a competitive and efficient offense in the game's opening quarter, as they made eight of their 20 shot attempts. For the Builders, it was their worst showing of the tilt, going only 2-of-18 from the floor. They scored a total of six points in the frame, and trailed by 13 points after the first. Luckily, the second quarter was a much better performance from the Builders.

From the start of the second period of play, each team was equally matched. Over the course of the 10 minutes, both squads missed 10 shots, and there was just a one-make difference overall. York had six made baskets, while the Builders managed five. Three three-point makes were compiled by the Panthers on eight tries, and Southwestern was just 1-of-3 from distance. All thins considered, the 15 points scored by each side in the quarter made it 34-21 at the half.

York had a rather impressive second half offensively, pulling further away from SC in the third quarter with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The Moundbuilders could not get a lot going with the orange in the third frame, converting on just three of their 13 total tries. All three made shots were two-point attempts, and the squad was a perfect 2-of-2 at the free throw line to put up eight points. The 56-29 tally entering the fourth quarter would be a difficult deficit to overcome for the Builders.

With the Panthers continuing to convert on offense, Southwestern did their very best to keep pace, but could not make up any ground. The Moundbuilders hit six shots on 13 attempts (46.2%), scoring 21 points, while York drained nine shots. Those makes included three from long range. They took a total of 17 shots and matched the 21 points scored by the Builders. At the battle's conclusion, York exited Winfield with a 77-50 triumph over the Lady Builders.

"It was great to see Madi and D'Shonda play a physical game in the post," continued Corley. "They both keep taking big steps each day to balance our offense with an inside attack to pair with our guard play. Macey and Bryanna struggled from three on Thursday and tonight, but it's exciting to have Devyn and Haven gaining confidence with some important scoring tonight."

Macey Pond jumped back to the top of the Moundbuilder box score, tallying 17 points on a total of 15 shots. She made six of those tries, including a trio of three-point bombs. Haven Matthews made an impact as a scorer in this bout, as well, becoming the second of two SC players with 10 or more points. She scored exactly 10 on 3-of-6 shooting. She drilled two out of her four three-point attempts, as well. Devyn Woods was strong off the bench as a three-point specialist. Out of her seven shot attempts, six were from downtown. She knocked down half of her three-point tries in the game for a total of nine points.

Denisha Anderson led the team with three assists in the game, while both Matthews and Heather Chiesi were able to provide two. D'Shonda Hunt and Bryanna Williams were responsible for the last two assists on the SC box score.

Hunt reeled in a massive 13 rebounds, including four on the offensive end of the floor. She led the squad in boards, and was followed by Madi Jones off the bench with nine, as well as Pond with seven. The three rebounders were responsible for 29 of the team's 36 total backboards in the battle.

Jones had a standout night as a rim protector, sending away four Panther shots in the game, as she was the only Builder to block a shot over the 40 minutes of play. The team did have active hands on defense, though, racking up 11 steals. Pond led the way with three thefts, and Hunt, Chiesi and Hunter Garcia were credited with two apiece.

"We aren't finishing with wins right now, but we have a group who is hungry to compete every day," declared Corley. "As long as we keeping working hard and playing together, we have a lot of really good pieces that will come together soon. 

The Moundbuilders (3-9, 0-6 KCAC) showed some improvement on the offensive end in this battle, as well as some opportunistic defense, but cpould not pull out the victory. They will be tasked with facing the McPherson College Bulldogs next Saturday, December 10 at 1 p.m. inside Stewart Field House. That tilt will be their final home game until January 4, as the semester break looms in the near future.

--buildersports.com--