Mac shocks No. 2 team

McPherson coach Mel Wright received handshakes all around after the big win.

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

McPherson College's women shocked the world Saturday night.

Well, maybe not the world, but certainly the nation, as the Bulldogs handed the nation's second-best NAIA Division II team, Sterling College, an 83-74 loss, only its second of the year.

It simply was the greatest victory in the history of the Mac women's program and it set off a wild celebration that filled the Sport Center with emotion.

The Bulldogs had not defeated Sterling since Feb. 8, 1992, and there were a lot of years the Lady Warriors put some 40-point whippings on Mac.

And this was no fluke. Mac led by as many as eight in the first half before settling for a 37-34 lead. After Sterling scored the first six points of the second half to right the ship, Mac retaliated with a 23-10 run, capped by freshman reserve Christa Blose's 3-pointer.

"After we came out in the second half and held them off after they made their run, that's when I thought this was going to be it and we could win," said Mac coach Mel Wright, who never had defeated Sterling. "We made some key defensive stops and got some steals to set up some key baskets."

The lead reached as many as 13 before Sterling All-American and McPherson native Kristina Barrow led a Lady Warrior charge that pulled them as close as five, but it was too late.

Sharla Odhams had a monstrous game for Mac with 22 points, 6 steals, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in displaying stunning athleticism.

"Sharla Odhams is just a champion, that's all you can say about her," Wright said. "Sharla is in the Army Reserves and when you have people like that defending our country, we're not in too much danger."

Odhams, who is the emotional leader of the team, said it was a dream come true.

"There was two minutes to go and it was like 'we've won this,'" she said. "Everybody was hitting their free throws and a couple girls hit 3-pointers. This was our game and the seniors really wanted it because we hadn't beaten Sterling before. We've been wanting this for coach Wright and we've been wanting this forever."

Blose, whose best previous game had been 9 points, scored 15 of her 17 in the second half. "She's just a very solid player," Wright said, noting that she just gets better every game.

Amber Jackson shook off the flu to score 16 points in her best game of the year and steady Erica Alvarez scored 15.

Rachel Miller, who had 24 points at halftime, finished with 39, while Barrow scored 18 and pulled down 16 rebounds. Barrow is now 20 points from tying the Sterling scoring record.

"Rachel had an outstanding game. I hate to see a game like that go down the drain," Sterling coach Lonnie Kruse said.

Kruse tipped his cap to the Bulldogs.

"We just had a lot of missed opportunities," he said. "We missed free throws and had turnovers. They got excited and it was hard to overcame that. They got that run going and we couldn't get it stopped. They played very well."

Mac is now 5-3 in the KCAC and 9-8 overall after winning for the fifth straight time. It goes to Bethel Thursday to wrap up the first half of the schedule. Sterling has its huge showdown Thursday at Bethany in a battle of Top 10 teams.

Mac (83) -- Odhams 7 8-8 22; Blose 5 6-8 17; Richardson 2 3-4 8; Jackson 4 6-8 16; Gremmer 1 0-0 2; Hagen 1 0-0 2; Alvarez 6 3-3 15; Kline 0 1-2 1. Totals -- 26 27-33 83. 3-pointers -- Jackson 2, Blose 1, Richardson 1.

Sterling (74) -- M. Frees 2 0-0 4; Peerson 0 1-3 1; Coykendall 0 1-5 1; Anderson 0 1-4 1; Owens 1 1-2 3; Pitts 2 2-2 6; Kruse 0 1-2 1; Miller 15 9-12 39; Barrow 5 6-6 18. Totals -- 25 22-36 74. 3-pointers -- Barrow 2.