The Pittsburg State women’s basketball team trailed by just four points in the second half against Central Missouri when everything went wrong.
First, DePrice Taylor went out with an ankle injury. Then Nicole McCombs was slapped with a technical and ejected for an elbow. And just four minutes later, the four-point deficit turned into a 12-point gap that the Gorillas couldn’t overcome, falling 75-62.
“It really took a lot out of us when DP went down,” said Pitt State coach Lane Lord. “We didn’t have anybody step up.
“It sounds like a broken record, but we had a chance on the road and didn’t finish,” Lord said.
The loss marked the third-straight road defeat for the Gorillas (10-10 overall, 8-5 MIAA), while the Jennies (11-9, 7-6) were able to move within a game of third place.
The first half was tight the whole way, with the two teams often exchanging leads and never separating by more than six points. That was the margin following a Taylor Hanson three-pointer with 14 seconds left, but Pitt State’s Taylor cut the lead back to three with a three-pointer of her own with one second left in the half.
The second half started the same way, with UCM building the game’s biggest lead to that point with a 59-52 lead with 9:07 left. But the momentum seemed to shift the Gorillas’ way when Diedra Dace, one of the Jennies’ starting guards, fouled out 14 seconds later when she committed both a personal foul and a technical foul. The Gorillas used the ensuing free throws to come within four at 59-55. But then McCombs was hit with a technical of her own, allowing the Jennies to take a six-point lead.
The Gorillas cut it back to three, but then the Jennies took off, using a pair of free throws and a big three-point basket from Hanson to up the lead to eight. Meghan Waggoner hit a layup and a pair of free throws and the Gorillas trailed by 12.
A pair of Drew Roberts jumpers cut the lead to eight with 2:40 left, but Rebecca Roberts hit two jump shots of her own and the Gorillas never came any closer.
Neither team shot well, though the Mules did have four players in double figures: Rebecca Roberts, 19; Hanson, 15; Waggoner, 12; and Fleming, 10. All of Hanson’s points were from three-pointers, with several coming in clutch situations.
“When she’s hot, she’s hot,” Lord said. “We tried to guard her, but one of her shots came from five feet behind the line.”
Taylor led the Gorillas with 18 before leaving the game with injury. Onikute scored 13, while Drew Roberts added 10.
“All-in-all, it was a very good game for 32 minutes,” Lord said. “But between the technical foul and DePrice getting hurt, that just hurt us.”
Wednesday, the Gorillas get to come back to the friendly confines of John Lance Arena, where the women are undefeated this season. They will host Southwest Baptist.
“It’s going to be a big week for us,” Lord said. “We need to go back and get in the win column.”
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The Pittsburg State women’s basketball team trailed by just four points in the second half against Central Missouri when everything went wrong.
First, DePrice Taylor went out with an ankle injury. Then Nicole McCombs was slapped with a technical and ejected for an elbow. And just four minutes later, the four-point deficit turned into a 12-point gap that the Gorillas couldn’t overcome, falling 75-62.
“It really took a lot out of us when DP went down,” said Pitt State coach Lane Lord. “We didn’t have anybody step up.
“It sounds like a broken record, but we had a chance on the road and didn’t finish,” Lord said.
The loss marked the third-straight road defeat for the Gorillas (10-10 overall, 8-5 MIAA), while the Jennies (11-9, 7-6) were able to move within a game of third place.
The first half was tight the whole way, with the two teams often exchanging leads and never separating by more than six points. That was the margin following a Taylor Hanson three-pointer with 14 seconds left, but Pitt State’s Taylor cut the lead back to three with a three-pointer of her own with one second left in the half.
The second half started the same way, with UCM building the game’s biggest lead to that point with a 59-52 lead with 9:07 left. But the momentum seemed to shift the Gorillas’ way when Diedra Dace, one of the Jennies’ starting guards, fouled out 14 seconds later when she committed both a personal foul and a technical foul. The Gorillas used the ensuing free throws to come within four at 59-55. But then McCombs was hit with a technical of her own, allowing the Jennies to take a six-point lead.
The Gorillas cut it back to three, but then the Jennies took off, using a pair of free throws and a big three-point basket from Hanson to up the lead to eight. Meghan Waggoner hit a layup and a pair of free throws and the Gorillas trailed by 12.
A pair of Drew Roberts jumpers cut the lead to eight with 2:40 left, but Rebecca Roberts hit two jump shots of her own and the Gorillas never came any closer.
Neither team shot well, though the Mules did have four players in double figures: Rebecca Roberts, 19; Hanson, 15; Waggoner, 12; and Fleming, 10. All of Hanson’s points were from three-pointers, with several coming in clutch situations.
“When she’s hot, she’s hot,” Lord said. “We tried to guard her, but one of her shots came from five feet behind the line.”
Taylor led the Gorillas with 18 before leaving the game with injury. Onikute scored 13, while Drew Roberts added 10.
“All-in-all, it was a very good game for 32 minutes,” Lord said. “But between the technical foul and DePrice getting hurt, that just hurt us.”
Wednesday, the Gorillas get to come back to the friendly confines of John Lance Arena, where the women are undefeated this season. They will host Southwest Baptist.
“It’s going to be a big week for us,” Lord said. “We need to go back and get in the win column.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
Central Missouri women 75, Pittsburg State 62
PITTSBURG STATE (62) — DePrice Taylor 7-11 3-5 18, Maya Onikute 5-11 1-2 13, Drew Roberts 4-9 0-0 10, Amanda Orloske 1-5 5-6 8, Nicole McCombs 2-9 3-5 7, Aubrey Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Larissa Richards 1-2 0-0 2, Laura Glenn 0-4 2-2 2, Marissa Poppe 0-3 0-0 0, Bailey Waugh 0-4 0-0 0, Lauren Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-60 14-20 62.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (75) — Rebecca Roberts 9-17 1-2 19, Taylor Hanson 5-10 0-0 15, Meghan Waggoner 1-6 10-10 12, Kara Fleming 3-5 4-5 10, Deidra Dace 3-8 2-2 8, Renae Shippy 2-3 1-1 5, Danielle Shows 1-5 1-2 3, Brittney Slifer 1-4 0-0 3, Kelce Goebel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-59 19-22 75.
Halftime — UCM 36, PSU 33. 3-point goals — PSU 6-24 (Onikute 2-5, Roberts 2-6, Taylor 1-2, Orloske 1-5, Glenn 0-1, Poppe 0-2, Waugh 0-3), UCM 6-24 (Hanson 5-10, Slifer 1-4, Fleming 0-1, Shows 0-1, Shippy 0-1, Goebel 0-1, Dace 0-2, Waggoner 0-3). Rebounds — PSU 36 (McCombs 9), UCM 39 (Shows 10). Assists — PSU 7 (Roberts, Onikute 2), UCM 14 (Fleming 6). Turnovers — PSU 17, UCM 14. Steals — PSU 7, UCM 7. Personal fouls — PSU 19, UCM 18. Fouled out — UCM Dace. Technical fouls — PSU McCombs, UCM Dace.
