WINFIELD, Kan. – Southwestern College's women's basketball team returned to Stewart Field House on Saturday afternoon for a battle against the easternmost foe in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), Avila University. The middle frames proved to be important for the Builders, as they entered the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead and held on for the 61-49 victory.

"We are thrilled to be celebrating a win tonight," said head coach Whitney Corley. "We had a great week of practice and showed a lot of fight aainst KW on Wednesday., so it is great when we get the reward."

In the tilt's opening quarter, Southwestern and Avila were not at their sharpest offensively. Each squad made just four field goals in the opening frame, and were held to less than 30% shooting. The 10-10 tie after one portrayed a slugfest that was set to continue throughout the battle.

Incredibly, both sides made four shots again in the second quarter, but there was a major difference in the box score between the home side and the visitors. The Moundbuilders took a total of nine free throws in the second quarter, sinking eight of them. Meanwhile, Avila only took two shots from the charity stripe. They made both of their attempts, but the 16-11 score in favor of SC over the course of the 10 minutes was greatly aided by free throw shooting. The lead was 26-21 for the Builders entering the second half.

Quarter number three was a better offensive frame for the Moundbuilders, as they made 6-of-15 (40%) shots from the field. Avila again was able to make only four field goals, but had six made free throws to the Builders' four in the third. Southwestern stretched their lead to eight at 43-35 as the fourth stanza got under way.

The fourth was a different story, as the Builders were struggling early on in the period to make shots. The Eagles made significant inroads in the quarter, mounting a 13-6 run over the first six minutes of play to cut the SC advantage to just a single point at 49-48. With four minutes left to play, the Moundbuilders finished the battle on a 12-1 scoring run to pull away from Avila and win 61-49. The final eight Moundbuilder points came on made free throws, as the Eagles had to attempt to get back into the game with fouls in the late stages.

D'Shonda Hunt and Macey Pond took advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe, sinking a combined 17-of-19 (89.5%) in the tilt. They each put up 18 points in the game, which was tied for the game-high mark.

"We got a big game from D'Shonda Hunt; she has been a stellar rebounder all season, and she helped us stretch the lead with free throws," stated Corley.

Pond and Devyn Woods led the team in assists with two, and Haven Matthews, Madi Jones and Emily McElroy had the remaining three dimes on the stat sheet for Southwestern.

Hunt led the squad with seven boards, and was followed by Woods and Jones, who racked up six rebounds apiece. Pond added five to the Builder total, while Matthews contributed four and Denisha Anderson added three more. Heather Chiesi had two backboards, as the final Moundbuilder with multiple rebounds.

"We got a good consistent contribution from our group of guards to balance with our inside attack," Corley declared. "I am really proud of the way our group responded in the second half with some adjustments defensively to slow down their offense."

Matthews' four steals were crucial in the victory, as she and Woods (2) were the only two SC players with multiple thefts. Jones blocked a layup early in the first half of the battle, and was the lone Moundbuilder to reject an Avila shot.

"Madi Jones made a big impact off the bench to compliment D'Shonda," opined Corley. "We are glad to have her back in the rotation... We will enjoy this win and get back to work Monday and take some momentum into our matchup with OKWU Wednesday."

The Builders (4-14, 1-11 KCAC) are off the schneid with the triumph over Avila, and have reached the halfway point in the KCAC slate. They now have Oklahoma Wesleyan coming to Winfield on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. for the first KCAC rematch of the season. Southwestern played OKWU tough in the conference opener, leading after three quarters, but could not quite pull out the victory. This time around, they will be looking to finish the job.

--buildersports.com--