Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Collegian Front Page

Monica Springer/Collegian photographerStudents cheer on the women's basketball team March 4 in Sterling. The Moundbuilders lost 64-60. They finished second place in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and secured a trip to the national tournament March 12-18 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Kenna Corley/Collegian photographerBailey Silvers, freshman forward, struggles her way past a Sterling defender Feb 27. Silvers had two points and two rebounds against the Threshers. [Click to enlarge]

Kenna Corley/Collegian photographerKara Beal, senior guard, penetrates between two defenders in an attempt to score Feb. 27 in Stewart Field House. The Lady Moundbuilders defeated Bethel College in the first round of the KCAC tournament 78-61. [Click to enlarge]

Cortney Gandy has been playing basketball for 14 years. She, like many of the other players on the Lady Builders basketball team, has invested a countless number of hours in preparation to be among the best when it matters the most. It worked. The senior guard will travel to Sioux City, Iowa with the rest of the basketball team to compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics tournament March 12-18. They will leave on Monday to get checked in, attend a banquet, and will start play that Wednesday. The women will find out who they're matched up against at some point today. This is the first time in four years that the women have gotten to go to the national tournament, meaning that it's the first time for each player on the team. Dave Denly, women's head basketball coach, said, "Any time you get to that level, there's tremendous competition. They're the best teams in the country." To make it to the national tournament, last week the women won both of their Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament games at home. They played Bethel at home on Wednesday and beat the Lady Threshers 78-61 to advance to the semi-final game Saturday against McPherson. They won that game 81-65. With Sterling College winning their semi-final game as well, it was simply the tournament championship on the line. Since Sterling had already won the regular season championship, either the team who won the tournament or the team who placed second to Sterling in the tournament got to go to nationals. The women lost the battle 64-60. Denly said, "It was a great game. It was kind of back and forth. We made a good run, and then down the stretch they made some free throws. It was a really good college basketball game. We just ended up coming up on the short end." Gandy said, "We obviously hoped to get first in the conference, but we've played really hard." After the tournament, KCAC All-Conference selections were announced, and three Southwestern women made the list. Kara Beal, senior guard, and Jenna Wilson, senior forward, were both unanimous selections for first team. Beal was a repeat selection from the 2006-2007 season. Wilson was also selected for the All-Defensive team. Tylar Hartfield, freshman forward, made the Honorable Mention team. Before they celebrate, though, the women are looking to get as far in the national tournament as possible. "I'm very excited," said Bailey Silvers, freshman forward. "We played really well and won the games that mattered. Now we just need to go take care of our business and play like we can there." Gandy said, "I'd say we're more excited than anything. What we've worked for is finally here." Paige Carswell is a freshman majoring in communication. You may e-mail her at paige.carswell@sckans.edu. 2/27/2008 Bethel College (61) Blackburn 3-9 5-6 11, Hiebert 3-7 0-0 6, Wood 2-7 6-6 12, Goerzen 2-9 2-2 7, Bachman 2-4 0-0 4, Hiebner 0-1 0-0 0, Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Phifer 1-6 2-2 5, Scogin 0-0 2-2 2, Rathbun 1-1 1-2 4, Anthony 1-3 2-2 4, Eckert 3-4 1-2 4, Totals 18-53 21-24 61. Southwestern College (78) Hartfield 4-6 4-5 12, Beal 4-11 6-6 17, Colclasure 6-13 0-1 16, Wilson 7-13 1-2 15, Harvey 1-1 0-0 2, Verhaeghe 1-1 0-0 3, Maxwell 1-4 0-0 3, Jarnagin 0-2 0-0 0, Gandy 1-4 1-2 3, Gray 1-5 2-2 5, Silvers 1-3 0-2 2, Tyree 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 27-64 14-20 78. Bethel 27 34_61 Southwestern 45 33_78 3-Point Goals - Bethel 4-17 (Hiebert 0-1, Wood 2-4, Goerzen 1-4, Bachman 0-1, Wilson 0-1, Phifer 1-5, Eckert 0-1), Southwestern 10-28 (Beal 3-8, Colclasure 4-10, Verhaeghe 1-1, Maxwell 1-4, Jarnagin 0-2, Gray 1-3). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - Bethel 45 (Blackburn 8), Southwestern 34 (Hartfield, Wilson 6). Assists - Bethel 6 (Bachman 3), Southwestern 18 (Beal, Wilson 4). Total Fouls - Bethel 16, Southwestern 19. Technical - None. A - 625. 3/1/2008 McPherson College (65) Fiorenzi 2-2 2-2 6, Pegram 7-14 5-5 19, Brewer 4-19 2-4 12, Woody 6-11 0-0 14, Coberly 2-10 1-1 5, Porter 1-3 0-0 2, Bratcher 2-5 3-4 7, Totals 24-64 13-16 65. Southwestern College (81) Hartfield 3-9 2-4 8, Beal 7-16 0-0 18, Colclasure 4-5 0-0 11, Wilson 3-10 7-8 13, Harvey 0-3 0-1 0, Maxwell 2-6 0-0 6, Jarnagin 1-3 1-3 3, Gandy 2-4 0-0 4, Gray 3-6 6-8 14, Silvers 1-3 2-2 4, Totals 26-65 18-26 81. McPherson 35 30_65 Southwestern 44 37_81 3-Point Goals - McPherson 4-17 (Pegram 0-2, Brewer 2-7, Woody 2-3, Coberly 0-3, Porter 0-1, Bratcher 0-1), Southwestern 11-23 (Beal 4-8, Colclasure 3-3, Harvey 0-2, Maxwell 2-6, Jarnagin 0-1, Gray 2-3). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - McPherson 41 (Pegram 17), Southwestern 44 (Wilson 10). Assists - McPherson 9 (Brewer 4), Southwestern 18 (Wilson 9). Total Fouls - McPherson 17, Southwestern 15. Technical - None. A - 750. 3/3/2008 Southwestern College (60) Hartfield 1-9 2-4 4, Beal 4-10 0-0 11, Colclasure 2-7 1-2 7, Wilson 6-15 9-13 21, Harvey 1-1 1-2 3, Maxwell 2-3 0-0 6, Jarnagin 0-5 0-0 0, Gandy 1-2 0-1 2, Gray 0-1 0-0 0, Silvers 2-3 2-3 6, Totals 19-56 15-25 60. Sterling College (64) Thiessen 0-2 2-4 2, Tinkel 6-14 2-2 15, Kraft 6-12 6-7 19, Stucky 4-7 4-5 13, B.Gasper 2-3 2-2 6, Herman 0-1 2-2 2, Schultze 1-4 0-0 2, A.Gasper 1-5 1-3 3, Racette 0-2 2-2 2, Totals 20-50 21-27 64. Southwestern 26 24_60 Sterling 33 31_64 3-Point Goals - Southwestern 7-17 (Beal 3-6, Colclasure 2-5, Maxwell 2-2, Jarnagin 0-3, Gray 0-1), Sterling 3-15 (Thiessen 0-1, Tinkel 1-9, Kraft 1-1, Stucky 1-2, Herman 0-1, A.Gasper 0-1). Fouled Out - Southwestern (Hartfield). Rebounds - Southwestern 41 (Hartfield 13), Sterling 35 (Kraft 9). Assists - Southwestern 8 (Beal 3), Sterling 8 (Kraft 4). Total Fouls - Southwestern 21, Sterling 18. Technical - None. A - 800.

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