WINFIELD, Kan. – On Wednesday evening inside Stewart Field House, the Southwestern College women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) tilt. It was the 13^th conference battle of the season for each team. After falling behind by nine points at the half, Southwestern fought back to tie the bout in the fourth quarter, but could not keep their momentum up over the final few minutes of the battle, falling by a final tally of 63-54.

The first quarter was kicked off by a strong start for the Builders, who raced out to a 10-5 lead with 3:19 remaining in the quarter. The Eagles, though, would counter with an 8-2 run over the last three minutes and change. Both squads were below the 50% mark in terms of shooting percentage, but Southwestern did hit two of their four tries from long range. A 5-of-13 showing from OKWU and a 4-of-12 clip by SC led us to the 13-12 Eagle lead entering the second.

Southwestern was able to put together a nice first few minutes in the quarter; obtaining the lead and stretching it to 19-15 with 6:15 to play in the half. Then, the Eagles went ballistic on offense, constructing a 14-0 run to grab and stretch their advantage to 10 points at 29-19 with 1:06 to play. The Builders were able to cut one point off the deficit before the intermission, but trailed 32-23 at halftime. Oklahoma Wesleyan forged their strongest period in the second, hitting on 9-of-18 (50%) from the field. The Moundbuilders were not bad on offense, either, though they took six fewer shots than the Eagles in the stanza. Their 5-of-12 (41.7%) line consisted of all two-point makes.

Though their prospects looked a bit bleaker after the stellar output by the Eagles in the latter stages of the second, Southwestern was able to toss those concerns by the wayside. They made up ground with an 11-2 run from the 6:27 mark to 3:27 in the penultimate quarter. That made their deficit just two points at 40-38 with plenty of time to continue the comeback. The score would remain quite similar, as it made its way into the fourth with a 46-43 OKWU lead on the scoreboard. The Builders were 6-of-9 from the field in the frame, hitting half of their four three-point attempts.

At the halfway mark of the final stanza, the Lady Builders were able to knot the score up at 50-50, and had positioned themselves to have an opportunity to earn their second straight win. Oklahoma Wesleyan, though, turned on the afterburners with a 13-4 run to close out the final five minutes of play. The 63-54 final was courtesy of several key shots in the clutch by the Eagles, which vanquished the Builders. Southwestern's inability to hit the three-point shot in the fourth was a dagger in the heart, as OKWU sunk 2-of-3 from deep.

Macey Pond was back to being the team's leading scorer in the tilt, compiling 15 points on 4-of-10 (40%) shooting. She was also efficient at the charity stripe, where she sunk 5-of-6 on the night. Denisha Anderson came up with double-digit points for SC again, piling up 13 points on a nice 4-of-7 clip from the floor. She was perfect at the free-throw line, making all five of her attempts. D'Shonda Hunt made 3-of-6 tries from the field in the battle, scoring seven points overall. Haven Matthews was able to sink a pair of threes on four tries, while Airalyn Frame was 3-of-4 shooting and scored six points off the bench.

Devyn Woods headed up the assisting duties for the Builders, tallying three in the game. Pond and Anderson were next on the list with two apiece, and Matthews, Frame and Heather Chiesi each added one.

Hunt was far and away the squad's best rebounder in the battle, reeling in 10 on the night, with three of those coming on the offensive end. Anderson and Frame were able to grab four boards each, and the trio of Pond, Matthews and Madi Jones hauled in three backboards.

Pond and Matthews tied for the team lead in steals with two, while Jones was responsible for the remaining of the Builders' five thefts. Jones was also credited with a pair of blocked shots in the tilt.

Though they did not com out on top, the Lady Builders (4-15, 1-12 KCAC) have put together three highly competitive games out of their last four tilts, including a win and an OT loss. Next up for SC is the Ottawa University Braves in Ottawa, Kan., where the squads will meet up on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m. for another KCAC donnybrook.

--buildersports.com--