No. 5 Lady Jays escape Kansas Wesleyan scare
Tabor win NAIA-best
20th game, surviving
81-78 close call
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
With just two games remaining, the Lady Bluejays are still looking to run the gauntlet and finish the regular season unbeaten.
After the Bluejays already clinched their second straight KCAC title with a 70-42 thrashing of Friends Thursday, the Kansas Wesleyan Lady Coyotes had the chance to spoil Tabor's unbeaten season Saturday night in Salina.
Tabor (22-3, 14-0) had to earn its 20th straight win the hard way at the free-throw line to hold off a late surge by the Coyotes for an 81-78 win.
With the league crown, the Bluejays already have their ticket punched for the NAIA's "Big Dance" next month in Sioux City, Iowa
For only the fifth time this season, the Bluejays found themselves in an early rut with KWU sprinting to a 7-0 lead barely :30 into the game.
With the Coyotes giving up height to the Bluejays, one of their best chances at keeping themselves from getting blown out of their own gym was to light it up from beyond the perimeter.
The Coyotes did, getting a trio from Sarah Montaya, including one that made for the 7-0 lead.
The Bluejays wasted little time bouncing back with Erica Hemmert chopping the lead to 7-6 with a fast break just inside 17:00.
Hemmert dumped a game-high 20 points on the Coyotes with six coming from behind the arc.
Wesleyan clung to its lead for nearly 6:00 longer until Emily Vogts fueled a 7-0 run which allowed Tabor to overtake the lead.
Featuring several players that are perimeter threats, it was Erica Dechant who got Tabor over the hump, 18-16 with 9:26 left in the first half.
Then there was Stacy Herman, who lit Wesleyan up for 16 points, including a pair of threes.
The Coyotes would trim the lead to one before the Bluejays pulled away, stretching their lead as far as 39-23 before going up 43-29 after one half.
Just like it has to so many opponents, Tabor looked as if it was going to run away with this one, too.
Trailing 60-42, Wesleyan closed the gap to 60-53 with Tera Schmid doing the treachery.
The Coyotes continued chipping away at the lead until they had it whittled to 73-69 with just over 1:00 left in the game.
Tabor turned to its free-throw shooting and Kansas Wesleyan never got any closer than the final margin.
The Bluejays ended the night connecting on 19-of-25 at the foul line and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.
Tabor closes out the regular season Thursday traveling to Leavenworth to tackle the struggling St. Mary Lady Spires in a 6 p.m. tip.
The Bluejays wrap up the regular season at 5 p.m. Saturday, hosting the Bethel Lady Threshers.
