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Email A FriendBy BOB DAVIDSON
Salina Journal
Time is running out on the Kansas Wesleyan women's basketball team. And the remaining schedule isn't an ally.
The Coyotes are in a four-way tie for third place in the Kansas Conference standing with an 8-5 record along with surging Sterling, McPherson and Ottawa.
KWU relinquished sole possession of third place Thursday following a 75-65 loss at Sterling while McPherson won at Saint Mary and Ottawa won at Tabor.
The Coyotes play Saint Mary (4-9) at 5 p.m. today at Mabee Arena and, simply stated, face a must-win situation. The Spires defeated KWU 65-64 on Jan. 5 in Leavenworth.
Wesleyan plays KCAC co-leader Southwestern and McPherson at home next week before closing the regular season with road games at co-leader Friends and Ottawa.
"We've got a really tough two weeks ahead of us," coach Gordon Reimer said.
The top four teams in the final regular-season standings will be at home for the first round of the KCAC tournament.
Wesleyan wilted in the second half at Sterling. A 36-33 lead with 13 minutes left in the game eventually became a 17-point deficit as the Warriors took control with their size and strength inside.
Wesleyan faces the same dilemma against Saint Mary. The Spires are led by senior center Jasmine Johnson, who averages 14.1 points and 10 rebounds. She had 15 points and 12 rebounds the first time against KWU, and tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds in the Spires' 56-53 loss Thursday.
"Saint Mary has got some big girls in the post," Reimer said. "We'll have a similar battle in the post as we did (Thursday) night. We're not very good against bigger, stronger post players."
Wesleyan shot just 34 percent from the field in the game at Leavenworth.
"We have to shoot the ball a lot better," Reimer said. "We did a good job defensively and rebounding, we've just got to get some shots to fall."
Three KWU underclassmen played well against Sterling. Freshman Vanessa Kresin and sophomore Alecia Smith each had 16 points, with Smith snagging 11 rebounds and Kresin seven. Sophomore Christian Cassity had 22 points, four rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
"We've always responded really well after a loss, and I expect the same (tonight)," Reimer said.
Saint Mary men rolling
The Spires come to town for tonight's game at 7 following a stunning 73-50 rout of No. 4-ranked McPherson on Thursday. Saint Mary (18-4 overall, 10-3 KCAC) held the Bulldogs to 26.6 percent shooting (17 of 64) and outrebounded them by six.
The victory moved Saint Mary into sole possession of second place in the KCAC, one game behind McPherson.
"They put you on your heels because they run so hard and get the ball up the floor so quickly," KWU coach Chris Fear said. "They take the first (shot) they get, and they've got guys who can make it.
"They're not necessarily big, but they're athletic and move well. We've got to slow them down, get a hand in their face and do a good job boxing out on rebounds."
Wesleyan (2-22, 0-13) couldn't match Sterling's firepower Thursday in a 105-83 loss. Trent Stutzman made a school-record nine 3-pointers and scored 33 points to lead Sterling. Seth Smith scored a career-best 20 points for the Coyotes.
Scoring hasn't been as much of an issue for Wesleyan of late, but stopping the opposition from scoring has. The Coyotes are allowing 90.2 points a game, which ranks them last in the KCAC.
Saint Mary leads the conference in scoring at 81.8 points per game.
"We're just not getting ourselves into position," Fear said. "This shouldn't be happening this time of the season. My biggest concern is the mistakes we're making defensively and allowing team easy baskets.
"Baskets they make should be contested, not because we break down. We've got to get that cleaned up."
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Sports editor Bob Davidson can be reached at 822-1404, or by e-mail at bdavidson@salina.com
