McPherson High's girls stared right in the face of adversity here Friday night.

But they didn't blink.

The defending Class 5A state champion Bullpups survived an opening salvo by defending Class 4A state champion Buhler, before eventually pulling away to a 54-42 victory to move to 3-0 on the season.

The Bullpups also had to survive foul trouble to All-Stater Ashley Sweat, who sat much of the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul with 5:42 to go.

But MHS was able to find other ways to get the job done, much to the delight of first-year coach Chris Strathman.

“Buhler kind of got us on our heels at the start, but we came right back at them and responded well,” Strathman said. “We told them that coach (Brennan) Torgerson's teams always come out on fire and with a lot of emotion. We didn't match that at the start.”

Buhler shocked Bullpup observers by leaping out to a 10-2 lead before the game was three minutes old. But MHS settled down and eventually pulled ahead 14-13 by quarter's end.

Molly Flood was the story much of the half, as she finished with 11 points, but MHS still led only 29-25 at the break. And when Sweat picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter, the Bullpups led only 33-25.

But good work off the bench by Ashley Walker and Kaitlin Reed kept the Bullpup ship afloat and MHS led 38-30 after three quarters. With Sweat back in at the start of the fourth quarter, MHS sizzled at the outset with a 16-5 run to eventually lead by as many as 19 before Buhler had a nice finish to the game.

Sweat scored 15 and Flood added 14, making four treys, while Sweat had 10 rebounds.

“Molly is able to face up and shoot as well as anybody,” Strathman said. “That was evident tonight. We've been talking about that all along. Teams are going to try and take away Sweat more as the season goes along. So we're going to have open shooters. Everybody is going to have to be ready to shoot.”

Brette Ulsaker added 12 points and was the only Bullpup to not be afglicted with free-throw malaise, as she was 6 for 6. The rest of the team, though, was 4 of 13, which has been a season-long problem.

Dandy junior guard Brittany Hines took game honors with 17 points, but was the only Crusader in double figures. Tara Wiens, who had 22 points Tuesday, was held to 5.

The MHS JVs came away with a 49-38 win behind 10 points by Amanda Gayer. The freshmen dropped a 53-36 verdict, with Shelby Horton and Molli Schmidt scoring 8 apiece.

MHS goes on the road for an important AVCTL Division I game Tuesday at Maize.

MHS (54) -- Ulsaker 3 6-6 12; Walker 1 0-0 2; Reed 1 0-0 3; Archer 1 0-0 2; Sweat 7 1-5 15; James 1 3-8 6; Flood 5 0-0 14. Totals -- 19 10-19 54. 3-pointers -- Flood 4, James, 1, Reed 1.

Buhler (42) -- Hines 7 0-0 17; Wiens 2 1-3 5; K. Jones 0 1-2 1; Richman 3 2-2 8; Cikanek 1 3-3 5; W. Jones 2 0-0 4; Friesen 1 0-0 2. Totals -- 16 7-10 42. 3-pointers -- Hines 3.

MHS JV (49) -- Walker 3 1-2 7; Reed 1 1-2 3; Nowak 3 2-4 8; Regier 1 0-0 3; Buchman 1 0-0 3; Carlson 2 3-3 7; Sorenson 3 2-2 8; Gayer 5 0-1 10. Totals -- 19 9-14 49. 3-pointers -- Regier 1, Buchman 1.

MHS frosh (36) -- Horton 3 2-8 8; Reith 0 4-4 4; Clark 1 3-4 5; Steenson 1 0-0 2; Schmidt 4 0-2 8; Needham 0 1-2 1; Kenton 1 3-5 5; Anderson 0 1-2 1; Miller 1 0-0 2. Totals -- 11 14-27 36. 3-pointers -- None.

McPherson Unified School District 418
514 N. Main
McPherson, KS 67460
620-241-9400
It is the policy of McPherson USD 418 not to discriminate on the basis of sex, disability, race,
religion, color, age, or national origin in its educational programs and/or activities, nor in its employment practices.

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