Hillsboro, Kan.- The University of Saint Mary Women's Basketball team played against Tabor College tonight for Round 1 of the KCAC Championship Tournament, resulting in a 67-44 win. The Spires improved their overall record to 19-10.

After Tabor jumped out to a 4-0 lead, Jerrica Johnson hit a jump shot to get things started for the Spires. Later, Alanis Delgado helped the Spires take an 8-4 lead after hitting back-to-back shots. Alex Specht put an exclamation mark on the end of the quarter as she hit a layup to go up 15-12. The second quarter started with a three-point shot by Paige Pendley as USM extended their lead. A majority of the quarter featured back-and-forth action from both teams as Saint Mary eventually pulled away with a late run to take a 29-24 lead going into halftime.

The Blue Jays cut the lead to 29-26 to start the second half, but Tanea Sims and Pendley extended the Spire lead to 35-26 with a short scoring run. From there, Johnson hit a two-pointer to end a Blue Jay run and help the Spires take a 43-35 lead heading into the fourth. An early run highlighted by great free throw shooting from Saint Mary gave them the momentum they needed to close out the game. After a lay-up from Pendley to take a 51-35 lead, the Spires relied on their defense and more free throws to propel them to the 67-44 win. Pendley led the way for USM tonight, scoring 17 points, while Johnson had eight rebounds.

Up Next

The Spires advance to the second round of the KCAC Tournament as they will now face the top-seeded Sterling College Warriors at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Sterling, Kansas.