WINFIELD, Kan. – On Saturday evening inside Stewart Field House, the Southwestern College women's basketball team hosted the visiting Bluejays of Tabor College. The tilt followed a similar plotline as the Moundbuilders' previous few battles, in which they turned the ball over at high rates to allow the opposition to pull away. The squad had six or more giveaways in each quarter, which allowed Tabor to score 37 points off of Builder turnovers and construct a 74-38 win over Southwestern.

The battle's first 10 minutes consisted of a 20-7 scoring clip in favor of the Bluejays. They shot 42.9% (6-of-14) from the field, which outdid the Builders' 22.2% (2-of-9) performance. Rebounding and ball control were both in the Bluejays' favor, as they outpaced SC on the boards by a 9-5 margin and had half the number of turnovers. Southwestern's six turnovers amounted to their lowest giveaway total in a single quarter in the tilt.

Tabor continued shooting the ball efficiently, connecting on 53.8% (7-of-13) of their shot attempts in the period prior to the half. Conversely, Southwestern took only eight shots and converted on three of them (37.5%). At that point in the matchup, the Lady Builders had taken 10 fewer shots than the Bluejays, putting them at a striking disadvantage. They trailed 37-17 at the break.

Southwestern followed the break with a 30% (3-of-10) shooting period in the third, which trailed the 37.5% (6-of-16) clip that was posted by Tabor. Turnovers would once again hurt SC in the frame, as seven giveaways led to TC taking six more shots than SC and converting on three of those six. After an 18-8 period in favor of the visitors, the Moundbuilders trailed 55-25 with 10 more minutes to play.

The Bluejays would extend their advantage in the fourth stanza by scoring 19 points on 53.3% (8-of-15) shooting. Southwestern's counter of 50% (4-of-8) from the field was a marked improvement, but the lack of attempts by the Builders doomed them to a 19-13 deficit over the course of the final frame. The final score of the tilt would register at 74-38 in the visitors' favor.

Denisha Anderson was the Moundbuilder scoring leader, as she was by far the most efficient offensive player for SC in this one. She scored 13 points and hit on 5-of-9 (55.6%) from the field. She also hit her lone three-point try and knocked down 2-of-3 at the charity stripe. Airalyn Frame stepped up to provide 12 points for the squad, as she made both of her two field goals from long range. She went 2-of-7 overall, but was 2-of-4 from deep. She also made six of her eight free-throw tries in the tilt.

Heather Chiesi was the team's leading distributor of the orange, as she dished out three assists in the loss. D'Shonda Hunt had a pair of dimes as the only of Moundbuilder with two or more assists.

Hunt was once again the squad's leader in regard to rebounding, as she grabbed six total rebounds. Frame followed her lead by snagging four rebounds for the second-highest SC total, and Takia Profit clocked in with three boards in third. Anderson, Chiesi, Hunter Garcia and Madi Jones hauled in two boards each to round out the list of Builder rebounders.

Southwestern had six takeaways in the game, and they were split evenly amongst six student-athletes. Anderson, Hunt, Chiesi, Profit, Garcia and Haven Matthews tallied steals. Matthews was also credited with a block on her line score in the battle, and was the only Lady Builder to reject a shot.

Five bouts remain on the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) slate for Southwestern (4-18, 1-16 KCAC) in 2023. Four of those five tilts will be played on the road, starting with the longest road trip of the season to York, Neb. on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. against the York University Panthers. The squad will then get a much-needed rest for a full week before another road tilt in McPherson, Kan. against the Bulldogs of McPherson College on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.

--buildersports.com--