Defense Shines as Sterling Dismantles Saint Mary

Sterling, Kan. - Phenomenal defense was on display on Saturday night in the Gleason Center as the Sterling College Lady Warriors dismantled the University of Saint Mary Spires 72-43 in the final KCAC matchup before the Christmas Break. The win improves the Lady Warriors record in the KCAC to 4-0, good enough for a tie atop the conference with Kansas Wesleyan University.

Sterling shut down the Spires completely in the first half, holding USM to 16% shooting and 13 total points. The Lady Warriors were able to counter in the first half with 41.9% shooting and 35 points, taking a 22 point lead into halftime.

Saint Mary faired a little better in the second half, especially from the three point line. The Spires shot 5 of 10 in the second half from behind the arc, but was still unable to win the half. Sterling shot 37.1% in the second half on their way to a 29 point victory.

The Lady Warriors' key to victory was forcing Saint Mary into 25 turnovers and 18 offensive rebounds, allowing SC to shoot 14 more shots than Saint Mary. Combine the 14 shots with Sterling's better field goal percentage, and it is a wonder the game was as close as 29 points.

Britany Gasper stepped up huge for Sterling in the absence of team leading scorer Megan Patrick. Gasper nearly had a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds. Senior Erica Herman also played well for Sterling, shooting 6 for 8 from the field and scoring 15 points. Sterling's defense was so good in this game that Saint Mary failed to have a single player score in double figures.

With the victory, Sterling moves to 9-1 on the season, 4-0 in the KCAC. The Lady Warriors will travel to Florida over the break to play Warner Southern College and Webber International University on back to back nights. Those games are on December 17 and 18, each starting at 7:00pm.