McPHERSON, Kan. — Southwestern College opened the second half of Conference play with a strong road effort but came up short in a 67–64 loss to McPherson College on Saturday evening at Holman Fieldhouse.
The meeting marked the second conference matchup between the teams this season.
The Lady Builders (4-12, 0-10) played with urgency from the opening tip, attacking aggressively as if they had nothing to lose. Martha De La Rosa scored Southwestern's first basket, and the Lady Builders led 16–13 at the end of the first quarter.
McPherson (8-8, 3-7) answered in the second quarter as Southwestern briefly slowed, allowing the Bulldogs to tie the game at 21. The Lady Builders responded by pushing the tempo and regained control before halftime, taking a 35–29 lead into the break.
Southwestern carried that energy into the third quarter and extended its lead to 40 points early in the half. McPherson countered with an 8–0 run to close the gap to 40–37, while missed free throws kept Southwestern from pulling away. The teams were tied 48–48 at the end of the third quarter.
Defense set the tone early in the fourth quarter as Breanna Goad recorded a momentum-shifting block, followed by a 3-pointer from senior Macey Pond that put Southwestern ahead 51–48. McPherson responded with a 3-pointer of its own to reclaim the lead at 53–51.
Southwestern continued to battle in the closing minutes. De La Rosa hit a key 3-pointer, and Pond converted at the free-throw line to give the Lady Builders a 56–55 advantage with five minutes remaining.
In the final moments, McPherson missed a free throw with the score at 64–61 but maintained possession. Breanna made two free throws to pull Southwestern within one at 64–63 with 22 seconds left. McPherson answered with two free throws to push the lead back to three.
De La Rosa was fouled with five seconds remaining and made the first free throw to cut the deficit to two. Her second attempt missed, and McPherson secured the rebound to seal the 67–64 final.
Despite the loss, Southwestern exceeded its season scoring average of 60.7 points per game and held McPherson well below its average of 77.8 points allowed.
The Lady Builders return home Wednesday, Jan. 14, to host Friends University at 6 p.m. at Stewart Field House.
