Mac women outlast York

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

In a span of two weeks, either McPherson College's women got a whole lot better or York College got a whole lot worse.

The Bulldogs, who lost to the Panthers by 22 points on Nov. 18, built up a 19-point lead with 11 minutes to go Tuesday at the Sport Center before York closed with a rush to whittle the final deficit to five, 73-68.

That enabled the Bulldogs to avenge their only loss, as they take a 5-1 record into their KCAC opener here Thursday against Bethel.

"I was watching the tape of the first game and we played absolutely zero defense and we were street-balling on offense," Mac coach Mel Wright said. "We had a lot more structure tonight."

It also helped the Bulldogs that 6-2 York center Ashley Wellman got into foul trouble. She went to the bench with 8:08 to go in the first half with Mac up 19-18, and stayed there until the half. The Bulldogs made hay in her absence, building up a 39-27 halftime lead, keyed by a 12 of 16 performance at the foul line.

The Bulldogs pushed the lead to as much as 19, 57-38, before York stepped it up to make things interesting at the end. It was the second straight game Mac had a huge lead before frittering much of it away.

The Bulldogs had great balance, led by Crystal Richardson with 18 points. Erica Alvarez had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brenna Schierling added 12 points, while Andi Wilder and reserve Kathy Tello tallied 10 apiece. Mac sizzled at the line, making 20 of 24, while York also was blistering at 23 of 27.

Wellman had 20 points for York and just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds. York, down 28-21 in rebounds at the half, outboarded the Bulldogs by 13 in the second half.

Mac (73) -- Schierling 4 0-0 12; Blose 2 0-0 4; Tello 3 3-5 10; Richardson 5 6-6 18; Suiter 1 2-2 4; Wilder 3 4-4 10; Alvarez 5 5-7 15; Kline 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 23 20-24 73. 3-pointers -- Schierling 4, Richardson 2, Tello 1.

York (68) -- Moore 2 0-0 4; Schultz 1 0-0 3; Gatliff 0 5-6 5; Wallace 6 3-4 18; Spickelmier 3 9-9 16; Martin 1 0-0 2; Wellman 7 6-8 20. Totals -- 20 23-27 68. 3-pointers -- Wallace 3, Schultz 1, Spickelmier 1.