WINFIELD, KAN.— Southwestern College women's basketball will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season when the Lady Builders travel to McPherson, Kansas, to face Central Christian College (Kan.) on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Southwestern (1-1) opened the year with a 68-51 road win at Manhattan Christian before falling 80-62 Wednesday at Peru State. Through two games, the Lady Builders are averaging 65.0 points per game while holding opponents to 65.5. Southwestern is shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from 3-point range, with an average of 9.5 made threes per contest.
Senior guard Macey Pond leads Southwestern with 16.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Breanna Goad follows with 12.0 points per game, connecting on 37.5 percent of her 3-point attempts. Freshman forward Aubrey Pond has provided an efficient spark off the bench, averaging 9.5 points on 64.3 percent shooting. Martha De La Rosa (8.5 ppg) and Kennedy Ford (8.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) round out the balanced attack.
Despite a tough rebounding night at Peru State, Southwestern has shown defensive promise, averaging 7.0 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while forcing 12 turnovers per outing.
Central Christian (2-1) will enter Saturday's contest after dropping its first game of the season Tuesday to McPherson College, 67-59. The Tigers opened with home wins over Cottey College (67-54) and Randall University (68-40).
Guards Chloe Clevenger and Kylee Jones headline Central Christian's offense, combining for more than 40 points per game through the first three contests. Clevenger leads the Tigers with 18.3 points per game, including 10 made 3-pointers, while Jones is averaging 18.3 points and 3.0 assists. Forward Alexandria Craig contributes 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, and Cristina Laudan adds 6.0 points and a team-high 6.0 boards. As a team, the Tigers are shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point range while averaging 67.7 points per game.
Saturday's matchup marks the fifth all-time meeting between Southwestern and Central Christian, and the first since 2019. The Lady Builders have won all four previous meetings, including a 70-60 victory in McPherson in their last meeting on Oct. 24, 2019. Southwestern's average margin of victory in the series is 25 points, with its largest win coming in the inaugural matchup in 2005 (97-60).
The Lady Builders will look to continue that success on the road as they seek to return to the win column before opening conference play next week.
