Posted: Feb 15, 2017
Last night, the women took on Spalding University at home. The result of the game was not what Blackburn wanted, ending with a score of 85-46, with Spalding winning. The game came down to one key thing at the end—turnovers.
Throughout the game, Blackburn had a total of 22 turnovers while Spalding had a total of ten. Blackburn didn't capitalize on any of Spalding's turnovers, but Spalding was able to score 30 points off Blackburn's turnovers. If the women had had fewer turnovers, or could have gotten stops when they did have turnovers, they could have ended the game trailing by a mere nine points.
The other two varying factors in the game were field goal percentage and rebounds. Spalding had a shooting percentage of 50.0% while Blackburn's sat at 31.5%. More baskets needed to be made within the paint in order for Blackburn to take the lead. Blackburn also needed to get on the boards more as Spalding had 40 rebounds compared to Blackburn's 28.
Change the little fundamental things, and the Blackburn women's team would have walked out with a win. They had the energy and the fight to compete with Spalding. They matched speed and fought to get stops on fast breaks, but they were just one step behind, trailing further and further behind on all aspects.
Aleisha Stiltner continues her streak of being high scorer for Blackburn as she had eleven points against Spalding. Maria Cline had six rebounds, with teammates Alexia Duncan and Stiltner following close behind with five each.
Next time the women play will be this Saturday, February 18th, at Greenville College at 1 pm. Their final game will be next Tuesday, at home against MacMurray College for a make-up game to end their season.