3/3/2024 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score

HILLSBORO – Leading 19-14 after the first quarter, the Kansas Wesleyan women’s basketball team felt it was in a good place to challenge the Tabor College Bluejays for a spot in Monday’s KCAC Championship at Hartman Arena.

The Bluejays would lock down defensively, especially in the second half and knock off the Coyotes 72-46 at the Tabor Gym.

The loss ends Wesleyan’s season at 17-13 overall. KWU finished 14-8 in the KCAC and earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament, knocking off Evangel in the quarterfinal.

Wesleyan scored the first four points of the game, and pushed the lead out to 11-2 on Angel Lee’s jumper with five minutes left in the first. Jill Stephens gave the Coyotes a 16-7 lead on a bucket with 2:42 left in the first but Tabor battled back, cutting the difference to five after a quarter.

Tabor got within one at 19-18, but the Coyotes would answer every time, only to be followed right back with a Tabor score. Tabor tied it with 5:49 left in the half and took the lead with 4:28 left. KWU regained a three-point cushion on a bucket by Hampton Williams at 27-24, but the Bluejays came back to take a 29-28 lead into the half.

KWU retook the lead 30-29 to open the second half, but from there Tabor controlled the game, scoring six straight to take a 35-30 lead, and pushed the lead out to double digits with 4:38 left in the third.

Wesleyan struggled to shoot it in the second half, shooting under 20 percent in the half.

LaMyah Ricks and Catherine Bowman led the Coyotes with 10 points each, while Williams and Lee added seven each. KWU was 15 of 45 for the game for 33.3 percent. Brooke Strine led the Coyotes with four rebounds.