STERLING – It was Trent Stutzman's night for the Sterling College Warriors. Stutzman set new school records in single season three-pointers and single game three's while scoring 33 points as the Warriors defeated the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes 105-83 on Thursday night at the Gleason Center on the Sterling College campus.

The Coyotes hung with the more athletic and bigger, stronger, faster Warriors for a majority of the first half. The Coyotes took a 7-5 lead with 16:34 to go in the opening half on a three by Seth Smith, who had a career high 20 points for Wesleyan tonight.

Sterling retook the lead with 16:13 to go before the half, when Dylan Briscoe answered back with a three with 15:42 to go to put the Coyotes back up 10-8. Stutzman drained three consecutive long rangers, including a four-point play on one to push the Warriors out to a 18-10 lead with 14:22 left.

A free throw by Cody Brazelton put Sterling up by nine with 13:53 to go in the half. Wesleyan answered back with four straight points all by Ty Dean to get back within five at 19-14. Sterling wasted no time getting back in control, going on a 16-2 run to take a 35-16 lead with 9:12 left in the half on a bucket by Adam Brown.

Wesleyan would rally, chipping away at Sterling's lead, getting back within nine with42 seconds left on four straight points by Seth Smith that made it 49-40 in favor of Sterling. Brown would hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left before the half to send Sterling into the break up 51-40.

Jason Carter's score to open the half got the Coyotes back within nine, but a Matt Swank triple put Sterling up by 12 with 18:59 left. The Coyotes could not get any closer than 10 points for a majority of the second half as both teams traded baskets back and forth.

Sterling led 67-57 with 12:58 left after Scott Weber's score for the Coyotes, but the Warriors would answer with a 9-2 run to retake a 17-point margin with 10:07 left. Wesleyan did not give up, but could not close the gap on Sterling, getting no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Stutzman's final three, which set Sterling's single game three-pointer record with nine, put the Warriors up 94-74 with 4:26 left.

Wesleyan got back within 12 on a Briscoe three with 3:04 to go at 94-82, but Sterling closed the game on an 11-1 run capped by Travis Minton's score with 31 seconds left to reach the final score of 105-83.

Stutzman's 33 led all scorers in the game as Sterling was 36-of-65 from the field for 55.4 percent. Brown added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.

The Coyotes were led by Smith's career high 20 points, as Wesleyan was 30-of-73 from the field for 41.1 percent. Dean led the Coyotes with five rebounds.

The Coyotes return home on Saturday to open a three-game home stand as they host Saint Mary inside Mabee Arena.

STERLING – Sterling College had a huge second half, but it wasn't without help from the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. A near complete lack of post defense allowed the Warriors to shoot 57.1 percent in the second half and pull away for a 75-65 win over the Coyotes on Thursday night at the Gleason Center.

The Coyotes led by five at the break, but Sterling opened the second half with six straight points to take a 29-28 lead with 17:29 to go on a bucket by Megan Patrick. Both teams traded baskets until four straight by Wesleyan's Vanessa Kresin gave the Coyotes a 34-31 lead with 13:54 to go.

A three-point play by Sterling's Lori Dauer ignited the Warriors decisive run, a 15-4 push that gave Sterling a 48-40 lead with 9:06 to go. A later three by Patrick put Sterling ahead by double digits for the first time at 55-44 with 7:25 left.

Christian Cassity's score with 5:13 left got the Coyotes back within eight at 57-49 but Sterling scored the next seven of the next eight points to take a 65-50 lead with 3:59 to go.

A three by Kresin got the Coyotes within 12 but another 5-0 run by Sterling put them ahead by a game-high 17 points with 1:49 left on Dauer's bucket. Another Dauer bucket had Sterling up by 17 again with 1:02 to go, before the Coyotes finished the game with a flurry, scoring the final seven points to make the final score of 75-65.

Both teams were frigid from the field in the first half as Wesleyan shot 29.4 percent (10-of-34), while Sterling was only slightly worse at 29.0 percent (9-of-31).

A layup by Frost tied the score at 4-all with 17:38 to go as Wesleyan's offense ramped up thanks to back-to-back three's by Kresin to make it 13-6 in favor of the Coyotes with 13:05 to go. Babcock nailed a three with 9:38 to go to give Wesleyan a 20-8 lead, but Sterling had a push of its own coming.

Wesleyan led 24-13 with 4:49 to go on a pair of Babcock free throws, but Sterling answered back with a 10-0 with six points by Eilert and four by Patrick to get within a point with 1:39 to go. Wesleyan scored the final four points of the half; including free throws by Smith with 0.9 seconds left to take a 28-23 lead into the half.

Patrick led all scorers in the game with 22 for Sterling, as she was 9-of-21 from the field, scoring 16 points in the second half. Dauer added 19 for the Warriors who were 29-of-66 from the field for 43.9 percent that included the 57.1 percent effort in the second half.

Smith and Kresin shared game high honors for the Coyotes with 16 each, while Smith also pulled down a game high 11 boards for the Coyotes. Wesleyan was 23-of-68 from the field for 33.8 percent, including just 4-of-21 from three-point range (19 percent).

The Coyotes return home on Saturday to open a three-game home stand as they host Saint Mary inside Mabee Arena.

The 2012 Capital One Academic All-District® Women's Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Kansas Wesleyan's Shelby Babcock and Montric Santee were selected to the District 6 College Division First Team Academic All-District® Team.

Nominated by current CoSIDA members at their respective institutions, nominees to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America® program must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.3 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and must have attended their current institution for at least one full academic year and have reached sophomore athletic eligibility status.

Babcock, a senior guard from Ventura, Calif., has been a four-year player for Kansas Wesleyan compiling a 93-27 record during her career to go along with two KCAC Championships, three straight national tournament appearances and best-ever 31-3 record in 2010-11. She scored 1000th career point on December 8 against Tabor College. Academically, Shelby is a two-time Dean's Honor Roll honoree and has been a five-time President's Honor Roll honoree. She has a 9.0 PPG career average in 120 career games. She was nominated for the Academic All-America® award in 2011, as well as being named as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2011 and will be in 2012, in addition to being selected First-Team All-KCAC 2011 and Honorable Mention All-KCAC 2010.

Santee, a senior guard from Little Elm, Texas, has been a three-year player for the Coyotes. She was named to the Dean's Honor Roll in Fall 2010 and is a four-time President's Honor Roll honoree. She was a NAIA Scholar Athlete in 2011 and will be in 2012. She was selected as Honorable Mention All-KCAC in 2010. KWU has 76-21 record during her career with 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game career averages. She has helped KWU to consecutive national tournament appearances and a best ever 31-3 record in 2010-11.

Members of the eight All-District teams are selected by a voting process among all the CoSIDA members in each respective district. Kansas Wesleyan competes in College Division of District 6, which consists of NAIA and junior college student-athletes that attend school in the states of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota.

This is the first year of the expanded Academic All-America® program as CoSIDA moves from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and doubles the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.

First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month. The Academic All-America ® Team ballot is voted upon by the National Academic All-America® Committee.

2012 Academic All-District® Women's Basketball First Team – District 6
Shelby Babcock – Kansas Wesleyan
Morgan Dubas – Doane (Neb.)
Courtney Hamblin – Dakota State (S.D.)
Amanda Hart – Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
Elizabeth Lamb – Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
Shea Rasmussen – Nebraska Wesleyan
Montric Santee – Kansas Wesleyan

As part of 2012 National Signing Day, Kansas Wesleyan University Football has released the signings of 14 student-athletes to become a part of the Coyote football team in 2012.

The list includes ten freshmen signees and four junior college transfers.

2012 Kansas Wesleyan Football National Signing Day signees (brief bios are below):
Zak Bataineh (WR/DB, 5-9, 175, Fr., Houston, Texas / Spring HS)
Josh Casebolt (WR, 5-9, 150, Fr., Cleveland, Okla. / Cleveland HS)
Daniel Colli (OL, 6-1, 270, Jr., Tracy, Calif. / Delta College (Calif.) / Tracy HS)
Jonathon Dewey (OL, 5-10, 240, Jr., Ukiah, Calif. / Mendocino College (Calif.) / Ukiah HS)
Kenny Diaz (DB, 5-8, 150, Fr., Hurst, Texas / L.D. Bell HS)
Colby Donahue (RB, 5-11, 225, Fr., San Antonio, Texas / Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson HS)
Reggie Johnson (DB, 5-10, 180, Fr., Navasota, Texas / Spring HS)
Jason Johnstad (OL, 6-3, 290, Jr., Escalon, Calif. / Delta College (Calif.) / Escalon HS)
Hayden McClain (WR, 6-3, 195, Fr., Santa Paula, Calif. / Santa Paula HS)
Stance McMahan (LB, 6-1, 195, Fr., Caddo Mills, Texas / Caddo Mills HS)
Mark Post (WR, 6-0, 150, Fr., Sayre, Okla. / Sayre HS)
Miquan Robinson (DB, 5-9, 185, Fr., Carrollton, Texas / Creekview HS)
Blaine Ruiz (WR, 6-0, 200, Jr., Hemet, Calif. / San Diego Mesa College (Calif.) / Hemet HS)
Eric Zurita (OL, 5-10, 260, Fr., San Antonio, Texas / Southwest HS)

Player Information:

Zak Bataineh (WR/DB,  5-9, 175, Fr., Houston, Texas / Spring HS)
Bataineh is currently a senior at Spring High School in Spring, Texas, where he played both wide receiver and safety for the Lions and coach Sam Parker. He was a two-year letterman and a two-year starter. He had 68 tackles, nine tackles for loss and four sacks defensively and eight receptions for 124 yards offensively.

Bataineh plans on majoring in Kinesiology at KWU and chose Wesleyan because it was a place where the people are nice and he feels like he can be really successful academically and in football while becoming a great person in general.

Josh Casebolt (WR, 5-9, 150, Fr., Cleveland, Okla. / Cleveland HS)
Casebolt is currently a senior at Cleveland High School in Cleveland, Okla., where he was named as a Second Team All-District as a wide receiver for coach Dale Anderson.

Casebolt said choosing Kansas Wesleyan came down to that the KWU campus and the surrounding community was a great fit for him.

Daniel Colli (OL, 6-1, 270, Jr., Tracy, Calif. / Delta College (Calif.) / Tracy HS)
Colli recently completed his sophomore season at Delta College (Calif.), where he helped the offense rack up 432.4 yards of total offense per game and 40.1 points per game in 2011. Delta defeated DeAnza College 63-16 to win the 2011 Togo's Delta Bowl.

He played high school football at Tracy High School in Tracy, Calif., where he graduated in 2009 playing for coach Mark Stroup. He was named First Team All-Area, First Team All-League, Team Captain and team Lineman of the Year. He was named Team MVP.

Colli plans to major in accounting, and said that Kansas Wesleyan was the right choice for him because the school offered him the opportunity to join a program that is on the rise. The coaches at Kansas Wesleyan really sealed the deal and made him feel like KWU was the right choice for him.

Jonathon Dewey (OL, 5-10, 240, Jr., Ukiah, Calif. / Mendocino College (Calif.) / Ukiah HS)
Dewey has signed with Kansas Wesleyan after playing the last two seasons at Mendocino College in Ukiah, Calif. He helped Mendocino average 291.8 yards of total offense per game. He was a two-time all-league selection.

Dewey played his high school football at Ukiah High School, where he was named All-League for two years.

He plans to major in History Education at KWU and chose Wesleyan because it was a good school and had the major he wanted.

Kenny Diaz (DB, 5-8, 150, Fr., Hurst, Texas / L.D. Bell HS)
Diaz is currently in his senior year at L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas, the same high school that produced Arizona Diamondbacks player Ryan Roberts, along with Tommy Maddox of the Pittsburgh Steelers and new Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen. He was named Honorable Mention All-District as a senior as well as Team Captain. As a junior he recorded 33 tackles, had six pass break ups. As a senior he had 47 tackles, eight pass breakups, three interceptions and a forced fumble.

He was also named to the A Honor Roll, and was a member of FCCLA and TAFE.

Former Texas Ranger Juan Gonzalez is Robinson's Godfather. He also was active off the football field, as a Relay For Life Cancer Walk helper, a participant Literacy Day at the elementary school , and was a guest speaker at East Apartments talking to kids about making good choices and being successful in school and on the field.

He plans to major in Education at KWU and said that the family bond and just the excitement of being part of the Coyote Nation helped him chose Kansas Wesleyan. He added that the coaches are young and great and he feels like they'll bring a ton of energy to the team. He felt like KWU was the best fit and gave him the closer feeling to making it like home.

Colby Donahue (RB, 5-11, 225, Fr., San Antonio, Texas / Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson HS)
Donohue is currently a senior at Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he was a two-time All-District tight end and was a part of the school's first ever playoff team. He was named as the team's Offensive MVP twice during the season, and was the first tight end to earn All-District honors in school history. He set a school record for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a season, and had the most receiving touchdowns on the team in 2011.

Donohue chose Kansas Wesleyan because it felt like a great place for him to succeed both academically and in football. He loved the campus and the family atmosphere he felt at KWU.

Reggie Johnson (DB, 5-10, 180, Fr., Navasota, Texas / Spring HS)
Johnson is currently attending Spring High School in Spring, Texas, where he played for Coach Sam Parker. He recorded 65 tackles, three pass breakups, five tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He will join teammate Zak Bataineh, who also signed with the Coyotes.

Johnson, who plans to major in Business Management, said the decision to attend KWU was due to the strong business department, a great environment and a family oriented football team.

Jason Johnstad (OL, 6-3, 290, Jr., Escalon, Calif. / Delta College (Calif.) / Escalon HS)
Johnstad recently completed his sophomore season at Delta College (Calif.), where he helped the offense rack up 432.4 yards of total offense per game and 40.1 points per game in 2011. Delta defeated DeAnza College 63-16 to win the 2011 Togo's Delta Bowl. He played high school football at Escalon High School in Escalon, California.

Johnstad chose Kansas Wesleyan because of the Criminal Justice program and the football program.

Hayden McClain (WR, 6-3, 195, Fr., Santa Paula, Calif. / Santa Paula HS)
McClain is currently attending Santa Paula High School in Santa Paula, Calif., where was named Honorable Mention All-League in 2011 and Second Team All-League in 2012. He was also the 2012 recipient of the Faith and Family award. He helped the Cardinals to a Frontier League Championship in 2009 and three straight playoff appearances. He had 16 receptions for 175 yards as a junior and 27 catches for 350 yards and two touchdowns as a senior.

He was an Academic All-County selection in 2010 and 2012, Class President three years and Commissioner of Activites at Santa Paula High.

McClain has ties to KWU already as his brother Zach plays football for the Coyotes, which was one of the reasons he signed with KWU. Hayden also said that he has come to really enjoy the environment and the people at KW and in Salina. Also he pointed out that KWU has a solid football program, a great coaching staff, and KWU has his major.

Stance McMahan (LB, 6-1, 195, Fr., Caddo Mills, Texas / Caddo Mills HS)
McMahan is currently a senior at Caddo Mills High School in Caddo Mills, Texas, where he played for coach Steve Sumrow. He was named Honorable Mention All-District in 2010 and 2011. He was also named Academic All-State.

He chose Kansas Wesleyan because of the school's great Pre-med program and the opportunity to play football as well.

Mark Post (WR, 6-0, 150, Fr., Sayre, Okla. / Sayre HS)
Post, a wide receiver, is currently attending Sayre High School in Sayre, Okla., where he was a four-year varsity player and three-year starter for coach Wes Brower. He was named First Team All-Conference as a senior. He had 19 receptions for 411 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. He also was Sayre's kick returner, returning 15 kicks for 187 yards and four punts for 31 yards.

Miquan Robinson (DB, 5-9, 185, Fr., Carrollton, Texas / Creekview HS)
Robinson is currently in his senior year at Creekview High School in Carrollton, Texas, where he played for coach Jay Cline. He was named Honorable Mention All-District at quarterback in 2010 and was Second Team All-District at Safety in 2011.

He plans to major in Athletic Training at KWU and said that after visiting the school he fell in love with the people and the environment and his decision to attend KWU was a simple one.

Blaine Ruiz (WR, 6-0, 200, Jr., Hemet, Calif. / San Diego Mesa College (Calif.) / Hemet HS)
Ruiz has signed with KWU out of San Diego Mesa College.

He played high school football for Hemet High School in Hemet, Calif., for coach Andy Boyton. He was part of the Bulldog team that was Co-Conference Champions in 2007 and made the first round of the CIF playoffs that season. The Bulldogs also received the All-State Academic Award. Individually, he was the team's Receiver of the Year for two seasons and was an All-League selection at Tight End as a senior.

Ruiz plans to major in Criminal Justice at KWU and chose Wesleyan because of the Criminal Justice program and the football program.

Eric Zurita (OL, 5-10, 260, Fr., San Antonio, Texas / Southwest HS)
Zurita is currently attending Southwest High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he played for coach Peter Wagner. He was a Second Team All-District selection in 2010. He attended the same high school as former NFL quarterback Ty Detmer.

He plans on majoring in Engineering at Kansas Wesleyan and said that he loved the campus and the people on campus were very polite which helped him make his choice to attend KWU a little easier.

LAWRENCE – The Kansas Wesleyan Indoor Track team continued its season at the Jayhawk Classic hosted by the University of Kansas on Friday at the Anschutz Pavilion at the University of Kansas.

Chase Wiedel competed in the 3000m, setting a new lifetime best with a 9:17.33. Cody Martus and Hunter Stayton both competed in the mile run. Stayton ran a 4:38.83 and Martus finished with a 4:40.41.

"Both (Martus and Stayton) were stuck in a heat that went out slowly making it impossible for them to hit their goal times," Wesleyan coach Brent Bailey said.

Tara Davis ran in the 800m finishing with a 2:33.70.

"Tara improved from last week at Iowa State but missed her season best," Bailey said.

Wesleyan is off for two weeks when they will compete in the KCAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 10 and 11 at the Heskett Center at Wichita State University in Wichita.

It seemed like everything that the Kansas Wesleyan men's basketball team did right, the Tabor Bluejays did just a little bit better on Saturday night at Mabee Arena. The Coyotes led 32-28 at halftime, but a huge second half by Tabor fueled the Bluejays to an 87-75 win.

Wesleyan had one of its best shooting nights of the season, going 26-of-49 from the field for 53.1 percent, but the Coyotes couldn't overcome Tabor's 71.9 percent shooting in the second half.

Tabor had the advantage in size and experience against the younger Coyotes, but Wesleyan was right there the entire first half, and the start of the second, before things turned in favor of the Bluejays.

Wesleyan opened the second half with a spectacular alley-oop from Michael Johnson to Jason Carter, but instead of energizing the Coyotes, the play seem to spark Tabor, who answered back with a 14-0 run that included nine points by Ryan Chippeaux and five by Lawson Kingsley to turn Wesleyan's 34-28 lead into a 42-34 lead for the Bluejays with 17:00 to go in the game.

Ty Dean stopped Tabor's run with a bucket, but Tabor held the advantage the rest of the way. A three by Scott Weber with 13:46 left got Wesleyan within three at 48-45, and free throws by Weber got the Coyotes within three again with 13:14 left, but Wesleyan was no closer the rest of the way.

Tabor went back up by nine points on Joe Penn's three-point play with 11:22 to go, before Wesleyan got back within four with 8:59 to go on free throws by Dylan Briscoe for the junior's only points of the night.

The Bluejays took control again, scoring the next nine points to take a 69-56 lead with 7:02 to go on a bucket by leading scorer Chippeaux, who finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

Chippeaux pushed Tabor's lead to a game-high 16 points with 2:27 left before the Coyotes would get within 12 the last time with 27 seconds left on a three by Borovetz that made the final score of 87-75.
 

The first half was a stark comparison to the second for the Coyotes. Brinker opened the game with a score, but Tabor scored the next seven points to take a 7-2 lead with 18:05 to go in the half. The Coyotes answered back with their own 7-0 run to take a 9-7 lead with 15:31 to go on a bucket by Brinker.

Both teams bounced the lead back and forth between them until a three by Kingsley with 13:50 to go in the half put Tabor up as the Bluejays would maintain their lead until Dean's free throws with 3:38 left put the Coyotes back on top 26-24. Michael Janzen tied things back up for Tabor before the Coyotes would go on a 6-0 run to take a 32-26 lead just before the half.

Kyle Wallace got the final points of the half for the Bluejays just before the buzzer to send Wesleyan into the half up 32-28.

Brinker again led Wesleyan (2-21, 0-12 KCAC) with 17 points, while Seth Smith and Weber had 13 each and Borovetz pitched in 12 for the Coyotes. Smith led the Coyotes with seven rebounds and Michael Johnson had five assists.

The Coyotes are on the road at Sterling next Thursday before beginning a three-game home stand next Saturday against Saint Mary.

The Kansas Wesleyan women used an early 10-0 run to take control as the Coyotes pulled away from the Tabor Bluejays for a convincing 70-44 win on Saturday night at Mabee Arena. The win improved Wesleyan to 13-10 overall and 8-4 in the KCAC, while Tabor fell to 3-19 overall and 1-11 in the league.

The Coyotes trailed Tabor 4-3 with 17:16 to go in the first half on a bucket by Molly Dick, but a layup by Montric Santee sparked Wesleyan's run that left little doubt in who the victor would be in the contest. Wesleyan stepped up its defensive pressure, forcing Tabor to miss eight shots and turn the ball over twice as the Coyotes built a 13-4 lead on a bucket by Bethany Jeffery with 11:08 to go.

After a three by Tabor's Whitney Frise, Wesleyan got back-to-back three's from Shelby Babcock and a score by Taylor Ebert to go up 14, 21-7, with 8:04 to go in the half. The teams traded pairs of three's over the next couple minutes until Christian Cassity got consecutive scores to push Wesleyan's lead to 31-13 with 4:08 to go in the half.

A bucket by Jordan Sherwood, her first varsity points  for the Coyotes, put Wesleyan back up by 18 and on its next possession, Wesleyan got a three by Stephanie Frost to put the Coyotes up 21 with 1:37 to go.

Tabor got within 16 with 14 seconds left on a Katlyn Mary three, but a three-point play by Cassity with 10 seconds to go before the half sent Wesleyan into the break up 39-20. The Coyotes shot an impressive 57.7 percent in the first half, including a 7-of-9 effort from three-point range.

Wesleyan scored the first 10 points in the second half to push its lead to 49-20 with 16:23 left on a rebound and score by Santee before a three by Frise broke the run for Tabor. A score by Frost and free throws by Alecia Smith and Rhys Pihl put the Coyotes up 55-23 with 14:42 left.

Smith's layup off a pass from Santee with 9:11 left put the Coyotes up by a game high 35 points at 62-27, but Tabor was able to chip back at Wesleyan's lead, but got no closer than 24 the rest of the way.

Cassity and Frost shared game high honors with 13 points each as the Coyotes shot 56.8 percent from the field for the game (25-of-44). Babcock added 12, all in the first half, for the Coyotes. Smith had 10 rebounds to help the Coyotes to a 37-24 rebounding advantage, while Kresin added seven.

Mary had 13 to lead Tabor, who was just 13-of-51 from the field for 25.5 percent. Paust added 12.

The Coyotes are on the road at Sterling next Thursday before beginning a three-game home stand next Saturday against Saint Mary.

This weekend, basketball coaches from both Tabor College and Kansas Wesleyan University will participate in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer® Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend, a collaborative initiative of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Participating NABC member coaches will wear sneakers instead of dress shoes with their suits during Saturday's games to demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and its vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Fans may support this cause by texting COACH to 20222 from any wireless phone to make a $5.00 donation toward Coaches vs. Cancer and help in the search for a cure. For more information, visit the Coaches vs. Cancer Facebook page, facebook.com/coachesvscancer.

This year, Coaches vs. Cancer will also launch a new promotion, "National Sneakers Day", on Friday, January 27, to kick off Suits and Sneakers Weekend. Similarly to coaches wearing sneakers on the sidelines, we ask you to wear your favorite sneakers to work in support of Coaches vs. Cancer and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

By lacing up sneakers with their suits, college and high school basketball coaches nationwide will spotlight the fact that while cancer remains a major health concern, everyone can take daily steps to reduce their risk of the disease. For those who do not smoke, weight control, exercise and a healthy diet are the best ways to improve health and reduce cancer risk. Obesity has been shown to increase the risk for many forms of cancer, including breast, prostate, and colon cancers and may account for 20 percent of cancer deaths in women and 14 percent in men.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of college and high school coaches and fans across the country, Coaches vs. Cancer participants have raised more than $70 million since 1993 to help the Society fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide up-to-date cancer information and education, advocate for public health policies that benefit communities, and deliver services that improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Additional information is available at coachesvscancer.org.

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – Down by 19 points at the half, no big deal for the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. Wesleyan put together an incredible second half rally, but fell just short in a 78-72 decision to the Bethel Threshers on Thursday night at Thresher Gym in North Newton.

Wesleyan trailed 41-22 at the break, no thanks to a paltry shooting effort as Wesleyan went 8-of-31 from the field for 25.8 percent in the first 20 minutes, which was a drastic improvement over the 15 percent they were shooting earlier in the half.

A three by Justin Baldia with 18:44 left in the second half put Bethel up 22 points at 47-25 and thinks looked bleak for the Coyotes, but Wesleyan had a little rally in them still. Fueled by 12 straight points by Dylan Briscoe, all on three's, the Coyotes got back within 12 with 16:27 to go at 49-37.

Wesleyan wasn't finished there, an Eric Regier turnover led to a bucket by Ty Dean and his free throw after being fouled got the Coyotes back within nine at 49-40 with 15:39 left. The Coyotes continued to come back, getting within a pair at the 13:18 mark on a three by Dane Brinker that made it 51-49.

Bethel scored eight of the next ten points to push back out to a 59-51 lead with 9:59 to go, but here came the Coyotes again. A bucket by Jason Carter and a three-point play by Brinker got the Coyotes back within three with 7:24 to go, and another triple by Brinker knotted things up at 59-all with 7:02 to go.

Lee Griffin hit a pair of free throws for Bethel to keep the Threshers ahead, but a Brinker layup with 3:15 to go would give Wesleyan its first lead since 2-0, at 65-63. Griffin hit a pair of free throws as Bethel answered back with nine straight points to take a 72-65 lead with 54.2 seconds left on a Justin Baldia three.

Wesleyan didn't give up, getting back within three on a free throw by Scott Weber, and within four with 11.6 left on a Brock Borovetz triple, but Austin Muckenthaler's free throws with ten seconds left would seal the win for the Threshers.

The first half was something Wesleyan would have liked to forgotten as the Coyotes could not find the basket, shooting just 25.8 percent in the first 20 minutes. Wesleyan led 2-0 to open the game on a Michael Johnson layup, but Bethel took a 5-2 lead on Robbie Wright's three with 17:48 to go in the first half.

Wesleyan got back within one at 5-4 on Seth Smith's free throws, but Bethel would power out to a 11-4 lead capped by Muckenthaler's stickback with 14:55 left. Wesleyan got a bucket by Smith with 12:21 to go to stay within five when Bethel would go on a 14-1 run to take a 27-9 lead with 8:18 to go.

The Coyotes got back within 14 with 5:19 to go, but Bethel closed the half on a 12-7 run to take the 41-22 lead into the break. Wesleyan scored five of the final seven points of the half, all by Briscoe.

Briscoe had 19 to lead the Coyotes, 14 of them coming in the second half, as Wesleyan shot 23-of-67 from the field for 34.3 percent. Wesleyan scored 50 points in the second half, winning the final 20 minutes by 13 over the Threshers. Brinker added 17 and Smith had 10 for the Coyotes. Dean had 10 rebounds to help the Coyotes to a 43-39 rebounding advantage.

Griffin led all scorers in the game for Bethel with 21 as the Threshers shot 39.3 percent from the field for the game on 22-of-56 shooting. Bethel also outshot Wesleyan by nine free throws, which turned out to be the advantage in the game. Baldia added 17 for the Threshers. Griffin had 10 rebounds to lead the Threshers on the glass.

Wesleyan returns to Mabee Arena to host Tabor College on Saturday.

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – The Kansas Wesleyan Women's Basketball team got back on the winning track with a 61-52 win over the Bethel Threshers on Thursday night at Thresher Gym in North Newton. Wesleyan shot 52.8 percent in the second half, while holding off several charges by the Threshers en route to the nine-point win.

"It's just really good to get a win," Wesleyan head coach Gordon Reimer said. "I thought the second half offensively we were much better. For some reason this bunch is so impatient offensively, they think they've got to make a play on the first or second pass. We went to our zone offense against their man and that's what was really the difference. We were getting some really good shots out of that."

Wesleyan bolted out to a 9-2 lead with 17:19 to go in the half on a three by Vanessa Kresin, and later pushed its lead to 11 points at 17-6 with 13:07 to go on Stephanie Frost's bucket. The Coyotes were able to keep Bethel at arm's length never letting them get closer than seven points the remainder of the half when Payton Walker hit a three with 4:36 to go in the half to make it 21-14.

The Coyotes would score the final four points of the half, the final points coming on Kresin's free throws with seven seconds left to send Wesleyan into the half up 25-14. Bethel shot a dismal 4-of-22 from the field for 18.2 percent.

Bethel got a three-point play from Chelsea Harris to get within nine at 32-23 with 16:04 to go in the second half, but back-to-back triples by Montric Santee and Christian Cassity, followed by another Cassity bucket and a pair of free throws by Cassity ballooned Wesleyan's lead to 19, 42-23, with 13:43 to go.

The Threshers made a run at the Coyotes, over the next ten minutes, outscoring Wesleyan 24-10 to get within five points at 52-47 with 3:30 to go in the game. Back came the Coyotes, getting a bucket by Frost and a driving score by Shelby Babcock to take a nine point lead with 2:59 to go.

Wesleyan pushed its lead back out to 12 points with 39 seconds left on a bucket by Babcock that was assisted by Rhys Pihl before Bethel's Spencer Suderman hit a three with eight ticks left to get the final score of 61-52 in favor of the Coyotes.

The Coyotes were paced by three players with 10 points each in Frost, Santee and Cassity as Wesleyan shot 39.6 percent from the field for the game after going 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) in the first half. Kresin led the Coyotes in rebounding with 11.

Bethel had 11 from Harris as the Threshers shot 20-of-55 from the field for 36.4 percent in the game. Harris also led Bethel with six rebounds.

The Coyotes are back at home on Saturday as they host Tabor College.

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The Kansas Wesleyan men's basketball team continues its season this week on the road at Bethel on Thursday and hosting Tabor on Saturday.

Both games will be streamed live on the KCAC Broadcast Network on kcacsports.com. Live Audio and Live Stats will also be available online at kwucoyotes.com. The games can also be heard locally on the radio on Classic Hits 104.9 FM with Mike Hammett and Justin Dean on the call for the Coyotes.

The young and injury-plagued Coyotes are still in search of their first win in KCAC play, sitting at 2-19 overall and 0-10 in KCAC play. Wesleyan has recently welcomed back Scott Weber and Krubiel Workie from injuries, but still awaits the return of center Jeff Schwerdtfager from a hand injury suffered right before Christmas to return to full strength.

Wesleyan is coming off a 98-67 loss to Bethany last Saturday in Lindsborg. Scott Weber led the way with 12 points while Dane Brinker had 11, but the Swedes shot 47.4 percent from the field and nailed 12 3-pointers on the way to the victory.

Dylan Briscoe leads the Coyotes in scoring at 10.6 per game as Wesleyan scores 68.6 points per game. Ty Dean is Wesleyan's top rebounder at 4.57 per game. The Coyotes are allowing a conference worst 90.2 points per game. Wesleyan is shooting 37.5 percent from the field as a team, led by Jason Carter at 49.3 percent.

SCOUTING THE BETHEL THRESHERS (1-18, 1-9 KCAC)
Bethel comes into Thursday's game on a 12-game losing streak after dropping a 81-69 decision to No. 5 ranked McPherson on Saturday night in McPherson. Bethel is 1-18 on the season and 1-9 in the KCAC, the only win for the Threshers coming over the Coyotes on December 3.

In Saturday's loss to McPherson, Lee Griffin poured in 32 points, and George Wittaker had 10 points as Bethel shot 48 percent from the field, but fell just short of the Bulldogs.

Bethel is averaging a KCAC worst 59.8 points per game, while shooting 37.6 percent from the field as a team. Lee Griffin leads the Threshers, averaging 14.3 points per game, while Trey Ronnebaum is Bethel's top rebounder averaging 5.6 per game.

THE LAST MEETING (Bethel 70, KWU 68 in Salina)…
The Kansas Wesleyan Men's Basketball team saw another second half lead slip from its grasp, but this time the Coyotes nearly grabbed the end of the rope and held on at the end. Bethel's Lee Griffin hit the game winning bucket with 1.0 seconds left to give the Threshers a 70-68 win over the Coyotes on Saturday at Mabee Arena.

Wesleyan was up by nine with 14:49 to go in the game, but an 11-1 run by Bethel gave the Threshers the lead with 11:26 left on a free throw by Trevor Ford. The Coyotes answered back to take a four point lead at 49-45 on Brock Borovetz' free throws with 10:32 left, but Bethel would use a 13-0 run capped by a Griffin three-point play to take a 58-49 lead with 7:54 left.

The Coyotes weren't ready to give up yet, outscoring Bethel 13-4 over the next four minutes to tie things back up at 62-all on a three by Dylan Briscoe. Bethel regained a six point lead with 53 seconds left on another Griffin score before the Coyotes would again tie things up at 68-all on Ty Dean's free throws with 28.7 seconds left.

Bethel took a timeout with 21.1 seconds left and Griffin threw up a circus shot from just inside the free throw line that bounced on the rim and fell in with what appeared to be 1.6 seconds left. The clock stopped at 0.4 seconds, and officials determined that 1.0 seconds were left in the game. Out of a Wesleyan timeout, Borovetz threw a baseball pass the length of the floor to Briscoe who jumped, caught the ball, landed and shot just before time expired, but his shot was short giving Bethel the win.

The game started out as though the Coyotes were going to control the tempo against the previously winless Threshers, jumping out to a 7-2 lead, but Bethel came back and took a 17-8 lead thanks to back-to-back Jared Regehr 3-pointers, the last with 10:56 to go in the half that capped a 15-2 run for the Threshers.

A 9-0 run by Wesleyan evened the score back up at 17-all with 4:22 to go, and Wesleyan again was down by six at 25-19 before a steal and layup by  Keon Jones just before the halftime buzzer sent the teams into the locker room tied at 26.

Wesleyan scored the eight of the first ten points of the second half capped by back-to-back triples by Briscoe and Seth Smith to lead 36-28 with 18:08 to go. Wesleyan saw Bethel get back within five at 37-32, but a 6-2 run capped by Dane Brinker's three-point play with 14:49 to go put the Coyotes up nine at 43-34.

Briscoe led Wesleyan (2-8, 0-2 KCAC) with 16 points, while Jones added 12 as the Coyotes were 22-of-62 from the field for 35.5 percent. Dean and Brinker had seven rebounds each to lead the Coyotes to a 42-42 draw on the boards with the Threshers.

Griffin led all scorers in the game with 19, all in the second half, as Bethel (1-6, 1-1 KCAC) shot 21-of-54 from the field for 38.9 percent which included a 13-of-24 effort in the second half. Trey Ronnebaum had eight rebounds to lead Bethel.

SCOUTING THE TABOR BLUEJAYS (9-12 OVERALL, 5-5 KCAC)
Tabor enters play this week coming off an 80-65 upset win over then No. 15 ranked Southwestern on Saturday in Hillsboro. Joe Penn led the Bluejays with 22 points, while Ryan Chippeaux added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Joe Penn is Tabor's leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points per game, while Ryan Chippeaux and Dylan Clark-Kaneable pace the Bluejay rebounders at 7.1 boards per contest. Tabor is shooting 43 percent from the field on the way to scoring 74.6 points per game.

THE LAST MEETING (Tabor 84, KWU 60 in Hillsboro)…
HILLSBORO – A deadly barrage of three-pointers helped the Tabor Bluejays come away with an 84-60 win over the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes on Thursday night at the Tabor College Gym.

The Bluejays opened up a huge early advantage in the game thanks to back-to-back-to-back triples that gave them an 11-2 lead with 16:35 to go in the first half. Tabor was on fire from long range all night, connecting on 13-of-30 three pointers for 43.3 percent.

It was an advantage the Coyotes could never recover from in the game. Wesleyan got within five on a bucket by Keon Jones with 15:06 to go in the half, but the Bluejays would take a 26-12 lead on a basket by Dylan Clark-Kaneable with 8:26 to go and would continue to stretch their lead out to a period-high 24 points, 38-14, with 1:31 to go before the half on a Phillip Jimenez three.

Tabor took a 40-16 lead into the half, as they held the Coyotes to 7-of-29 shooting for 24.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Five straight Wesleyan points to open the second half got the Coyotes back within 19 on Brock Borovetz' score with 19:03 to go, but a 16-6 over the next five-plus minutes gave Tabor a 56-27 lead with 15:40 to go on another triple from Jimenez.

Wesleyan didn't throw in the towel, cutting Tabor's lead down to 22 points on a Jones bucket, but Tabor was able push its lead out to a game high 36 points at 76-40 with 7:53 to go. The resilient Coyotes came fighting back getting the deficit back under 30 points on Dane Brinker's score with 2:38 to go and would cut the lead to the final difference of 84-60 with a minute to go on another score by Brinker.

Wesleyan (2-9, 0-3 KCAC) played Tabor (4-8, 1-2 KCAC) to a 44-44 tie in the second half, but the first half is what did in the Coyotes. The Coyotes recovered to shoot 48.6 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes (48.6 percent), most of those buckets coming inside as Wesleyan finished with 30 points in the paint for the game.

Jones led Wesleyan with 20 points, while Brinker scored 13 as the Coyotes finished the night 24-of-64 for 37.5 percent from the field. Brinker had eight rebounds to lead the Coyotes.

Ryan Chippeaux led a balanced scoring effort for Tabor as Jimenez added 13, Clark-Kaneable 12, Joe Penn 11 and Lawson Kingsley 10 as the Bluejays shot 25-of-61 for 41 percent in the game. David Loewen led the way with 10 rebounds for Tabor.

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The Kansas Wesleyan Women's Basketball team is looking to rebound from a disappointing loss to Bethany on Saturday night as the Coyotes take on Bethel College and Tabor College this week as Kansas Conference play continues. Wesleyan heads to North Newton on Thursday to take on Bethel and will host Tabor on Saturday at Mabee Arena.

Both games will be streamed live on the KCAC Broadcast Network on kcacsports.com. Live Audio and Live Stats will also be available online at kwucoyotes.com. The games can also be heard locally on the radio on Classic Hits 104.9 FM with Mike Hammett and Justin Dean on the call for the Coyotes.

Kansas Wesleyan enters the week 11-10 overall and 6-4 in the KCAC, in a three-way tie with Sterling and McPherson for third place in the conference standings.

The Coyotes are coming off a 61-53 loss to Bethany on Saturday night in Lindsborg, the first loss by KWU to the Swedes in the last 10 meetings. Wesleyan got 16 points from sophomore Christian Cassity but shot just 30.2 percent in the game. KWU led by seven with 14 minutes left in the game, but an 8-0 run turned the tide as Bethany pulled away for its first conference win of the season. Wesleyan has dropped six of its last nine games.

Bad news keeps coming for the Coyotes as they learned Monday that senior forward Rebekah Bunde will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered against Ottawa last Thursday.

Junior Stephanie Frost continues to lead the Coyotes in scoring (10.7) and rebounding (6.24). After reaching 1000 career points on January 12 against McPherson, Frost can now turn her attention to going for the Kansas Wesleyan career points record of 1568 set by Joedy Zimmerman in 1985. She has 1033 points through play on Saturday.

The Coyotes are shooting 38.9 percent as a team, averaging 64 points per contest, 4.8 points per game better than their opponents. Wesleyan ranks 17th in the NAIA in Total Rebound Defense (34.5), 19th in 3-point field goal defense (.271) and 25th in scoring defense (59.2).

SCOUTING BETHEL (8-9 OVERALL, 4-6 KCAC)
Bethel enters Thursday's game with an 8-9 overall record and 4-6 in the KCAC after a 70-65 loss to McPherson on Saturday. The Threshers shot just 30.7 percent from the field for the game despite getting 13 points from leading scorer Chelsea Harris and a 10-point, 18-rebound double-double by April Harpe. McPherson also shot 17 more free throws than Bethel.

The Threshers are scoring 64 points per game and are led by Chelsea Harris at 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Bethel shoots 33.8 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three-point range. Bethel ranks seventh nationally in offensive rebounds per game (17.3) and outrebounds their opponents 43.2 to 40.1 per game.

THE LAST MEETING (KWU 66, Bethel 43 at Salina)…

Starting out down 8-0, the Kansas Wesleyan Women's Basketball team didn't lose its composure against the Bethel Threshers. Instead, the Coyotes did what championship teams are conditioned to do – work hard and whatever it takes to win. Having junior forward Stephanie Frost produce another game-controlling performance with a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double didn't hurt things either. Despite the early deficit the Coyotes rallied and cruised by the Bethel Threshers 66-43 on Saturday night at Mabee Arena.

Montric Santee scored Wesleyan's first four points after the Coyotes fell behind 8-0 with 17:25 to go on a three by Bethel's Payton Walker and a bucket by Frost with 15:26 to go got the Coyotes back within two at 8-6. Wesleyan fell back behind by five at 12-7 with 13:51 left in the half when the Coyote offense got things going, and a stepped up defensive effort helped  things along as well.

A three by Frost, followed by another triple by Shelby Babcock gave the Coyotes their first lead of the night at 13-12 with 11:23 to go in the opening half. Wesleyan's offensive run continued, stretching out to a 32-6 run that gave the Coyotes a 32-14 lead with 1:42 to go in the half on Rebekah Bunde's free throw. Bethel went scoreless for period of over nine minutes in the game, scoring at the 13:51 mark and not again until the 4:27 mark.

Babcock's shot started falling as well as the senior knocked down three first half triples and hit three free throws after being fouled on another try for 12 first half points. She did not score in the second half, leaving her just three points short of 1000 for her career at Wesleyan.

After the half, the Coyotes picked up right where they left off, outscoring Bethel 12-4 to open the period to take a 46-20 lead with 13:40 left on a Frost bucket. A bucket by Christian Cassity with 8:51 left pushed Wesleyan's lead over 30 points for the first time at 54-23.

Bethel (4-5, 0-2 KCAC) never got closer than 23 points the rest of the game as the Coyotes closed out the 66-43 win.

Frost's 23 points and 14 boards were easily game highs while Babcock's 12 made her the only other Coyote in double figures. Wesleyan shot a little better than Thursday's performance against Bethany, going 22-of-58 for 37.9 percent, and the Coyote dominated the boards, outrebounding Bethel 51-33.

Chelsea Harris had 12 off the bench for Bethel to pace the Threshers who shot just 13-of-56 from the field for 23.2 percent. Harris also led Bethel with nine rebounds.

SCOUTING THE TABOR BLUEJAYS (3-17 OVERALL, 1-9 KCAC)
Tabor enters the week with a 3-17 overall record, including a 1-9 mark in the KCAC. The Bluejays are coming off a 73-35 loss to No. 16 Southwestern (then ranked No. 23) on Saturday night. Tabor committed 31 turnovers in the game. Katlyn Mary led Tabor with eight points, while Tynan Honn had six rebounds.

The Bluejays have lost five in a row since beating Bethany 61-49 on January 5 and take on McPherson College on Thursday night.

Tabor is led in scoring by Katlyn Mary, who is averaging 10.5 points per game as the Bluejays average 50.5 per contest as a team, ranking them last in the KCAC. Tynan Honn leads Tabor in rebounding at 5.6 per game. Tabor shoots 35.3 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from three-point range.

THE LAST MEETING (KWU 59, Tabor 23 at Hillsboro)…
HILLSBORO – Kansas Wesleyan held Tabor to 18.6 percent shooting in the game and just 11 second half points as the No. 12 ranked Coyotes cruised to a 59-23 win over the Bluejays on Thursday night at the Tabor College Gym.

Senior guard Shelby Babcock reached 1000 points in her career with 15:38 to go in the second half on a driving layup down the right side of the lane under, and over, Tabor's 6-3 forward My-Chal Duncan that put the Coyotes ahead 31-14.

The second half was a stark contrast from the first for the Coyotes. Wesleyan hit 48 percent of its second half shots (12-of-25) while scoring 38 points, enough to win the game by 15 in that half alone.

Tabor scored the first points of the second half on Katlyn Mary's bucket, but the Coyotes followed with a 16-2 run that put Wesleyan up 37-16f with 13:28 to go on a bucket by Rebekah Bunde.

Wesleyan continued to pull away in the second half, going up by 31 on Vanessa Kresin's score and would hit a game high lead of 38 with 1:06 to go on a triple by Taylor Ebert, account for her first varsity points of her career.

The first half was less than stellar for either team. Wesleyan bolted out to a 12-0 lead with 15:33 left when the Coyotes scored five points without the clock moving. Cassity drove to the bucket and was fouled and scored to put Wesleyan up 9-0. Paust, who committed the foul, was also called for a technical and Babcock stepped to the line to nail two free throws and Cassity's charity capped off the play.

The Coyotes shot just 28.6 percent in the first half, but Tabor's even lower 19 percent (4-of-21) helped the cause for Wesleyan.

Tabor finally got its first points of the game at the 11:14 mark when Duncan hit a high arching shot from 18 feet at the top of the key. Wesleyan then struggled to score over the next ten minutes, allowing Tabor to go on a 10-4 run that was capped by a bucket by Tynan Honn with 7:43 to go in the half that made it 16-10.

Cassity broke Wesleyan's drought with a banked-in three on the left wing and the Coyotes would head to the break with a 21-12 lead.

Cassity led all scorers in the game with 14 points off the bench while Pihl had 11 and Bunde 10 as Wesleyan (7-4, 3-0 KCAC) shot 20-of-53 for 37.7 percent in the game. Bunde added eight rebounds, Kresin had seven and Frost six as the Coyotes enjoyed a 49-21 advantage on the glass. Montric had a season high eight steals.

Mary had seven points for Tabor (2-9, 0-3 KCAC) to lead the Bluejays who shot just 18.6 percent from the field (8-of-43). Tynan Honn had five points and a team high four rebounds for before fouling out midway through the second half.

AMES, Iowa – The Kansas Wesleyan Indoor Track team continued its 2012 season at the Iowa State Open on Friday and Saturday at the Lied Recreation Center on the Iowa State campus.

Chase Wiedel recorded a new personal best in the indoor 5000m with a 16:42.59 on Friday evening and in the 3000m on Saturday morning just missing his personal best with a 9:23.66.

Cody Martus ran both the 600-yard run and the 800m, setting personal bests in both races. He finished the 600-yard run in 1:18.15 and ran a 2:01.13 in the 800m.

Tara Davis also ran the 600-yard run and the 800m, setting a personal best in the 600-yard run with a 1:37.11 and running a 2:35.47 in the 800m.

"It was a great meet with very stiff competition," Wesleyan coach Brent Bailey said "The only conference school at the meet was Ottawa and I was excited to see my runners ahead of them.  It's definitely is a good sign as we get closer to the KCAC Indoor Championships."

The Coyotes are back on the track this Friday in Lawrence at the Jayhawk Classic hosted by the University of Kansas.

LINDSBORG – The first half was something that the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes would like to have forgotten on Saturday night against the Bethany College Swedes. Bethany shot 58.3 percent from the field and scored 54 first half points as the Swedes beat the Coyotes 98-67 at Hahn Gymnasium.

The bigger, faster, stronger, upperclassmen laden Swedes took control in the first half and never looked back against the young Coyotes. Wesleyan led 7-5 with 17:33 to go in the first half on a pair of free throws by Dane Brinker but saw Bethany use a 7-0 run capped by a bucket by Chris Dean to take a 12-7 lead with 15:53 to go in the first half.

An old fashioned three-point play by Scott Weber with 12:57 left got the Coyotes within two points at 16-14 when things went south for the Coyotes. Back-to-back turnovers and two missed shots by the Coyotes during a 10-0 explosion by the Swedes extended the Bethany lead to 26-14 with 10:32 to go in the first half.

Jason Carter scored to stop Bethany's run, and after a Bethany bucket, Ty Dean scored four straight points to get the Coyotes back within eight with 8:58 to go. Bethany got another three by Clayton Goggins, one of nine first half long rangers for the Swedes, as they used an 18-7 run to take a 46-27 lead with 3:51 to go.

A three by Brock Borovetz got Wesleyan back within 14, but Bethany closed the final two minutes of the half with a 7-0 run to take a 54-33 lead into the half.

Trey Beachum scored the first four points of the half for Bethany as they extended their lead to 58-33 with 18:24 to go. Bethany again led by 25 with 16:51 left on free throws by Chris Dean, before the Coyotes got a three by Scott Weber and a pair of free throws by Jason Carter to get back within 20 points with 16:11 to go.

Bethany's lead pushed back out to 23 points when Wesleyan made another charge. A bucket by Weber and a three-point play by Brinker got the Coyotes within 18 with 12:08 to go, but the Coyote rally would fade from there.

Four turnovers and four missed shots by the Coyotes allowed Bethany to push its lead back to 24 points with 8:57 to go on a stick back by Beachum that made it 73-49. Wesleyan never got closer than 22 points the rest of the way as the Swedes continued to put room between themselves and the Coyotes. Bethany's lead briefly touched 34 points at 89-55 before a three by Krubiel Workie stopped a 7-0 run by the Swedes.

Dean's free throws with 35.3 seconds left capped the scoring in the game for the Coyotes before Bethany would turn the ball over and the Coyotes would take one last shot before time expired.

Four Wesleyan (2-19, 0-10 KCAC) players did score in double figures as Weber led the way with 12 points, while Brinker added 11 and Carter and Borovetz added ten apiece as the Coyotes shot 22-of-60 for 36.7 percent. Four players had five rebounds each to lead the Coyotes.

Bethany (7-11, 5-5 KCAC) was led by Beachum and Parks with 13 each, while Goggins and Dean added 12 each as the Swedes shot 37-of-78 from the field for 47.4 percent. The Swedes also dished out 23 assists against just 13 turnovers led by Jennings with four.

Wesleyan returns to action on Thursday at Bethel before hosting Tabor College next Saturday at Mabee Arena.

LINDSBORG – It just wasn't the Coyotes' night. A lackluster offensive effort coupled with a stellar defensive showing by the Bethany Swedes, Kansas Wesleyan dropped a 61-53 decision on Saturday night at Hahn Gym in Lindsborg.

It was the first loss for Wesleyan against Bethany since December 1, 2007 when the Swedes beat the Coyotes 77-67 at Hahn Gym. Wesleyan has now dropped six of its last nine contests, falling to 11-10 overall and 6-4 in the KCAC. The Coyotes also spoiled a perfect chance to gain ground on conference leading Friends who was routed by Ottawa earlier on Saturday afternoon.

Leading by a point at the half, the Coyotes held serve several times in the second half, going up by four points with 17:56 to go on a three by Rhys Pihl. Bethany would get back within a pair at the 15-minute mark when the Coyotes made an offensive charge that seemed to turn the tides in their favor. Five straight points by Christian Cassity put Wesleyan up seven, 44-37, with 13:58 to go forcing a Bethany timeout.

Whatever the Bethany coaching staff said during that timeout sparked the Swedes. Bethany promptly went on an 8-0 run to take a 45-44 lead with 8:05 to go on a bucket by Tanya Garner. The Coyotes missed seven shots and turned the ball over four times during Bethany's run.

Pihl gave the lead back to the Coyotes briefly with a bucket with 7:44 to go, but Heather Eddings scored for the Swedes to put them ahead for good with 7:30 to go.

Tanya Garner scored again for the Swedes to put them up three with 6:12 to go before a pair of free throws by Cassity got the Coyotes back within one with 5:29 left.

Free throws by Kendra Austin and Tasha Wagoner put the Swedes up by five with 3:52 to go. Stephanie Frost's score with 3:33 left got Wesleyan back within three at 53-50, but Kendra Austin's triple and a pair of Wagoner free throws sealed the deal and put the Swedes up nine at 60-51 with 1:14 to go.

Austin hit a free throw with 26.8 seconds left before Pihl scored with 18.7 to go to make thefinal score 61-53 in favor of the Swedes.

The first half was a struggle for the Coyotes as they shot just 32.3 percent from the field and had 10 turnovers.

Bethany took the early lead on Tasha Wagoner's bucket with 16:10 left, as neither team mustered any offense for nearly four minutes to open the game. A three by Rhys Pihl gave the Coyotes the lead back with 15:44 left and another triple by Christian Cassity put Wesleyan ahead 6-2 with 14:53 to go.

The Coyotes held the lead until the 11:44 mark when the Swedes capped a 7-2 run with a three by Nicole Felker to take a 9-8 lead.

Wesleyan answered back with five straight to take a 13-9 lead with 10:01 left. Bethany again rallied scoring the next six to take a 15-13 lead on Heather Eddings' score with 8:11 to go. Four straight by Alecia Smith put the Coyotes back up by a deuce. The teams would trade the lead for the 14th time in the first 20 minutes when Shelby Babcock buried a deep three with 23 seconds left that sent the Coyotes into the break up 30-29.

Cassity had 16 off the bench to pace Wesleyan who shot 19-of-63 from the field for 30.2 percent for the game. Frost had 11 and Pihl had 10 for the Coyotes. Smith led the Coyotes on the glass with nine rebounds, while Pihl also had eight.

Austin led the Swedes, who snapped an 11-game losing streak with the win, with 16 points as the Swedes were 21-of-60 from the field for 35 percent in the game. Wagoner added 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds as the Swedes outrebounded Wesleyan 47-42 in the game.

The Coyotes are back on the road on Thursday at Bethel before hosting Tabor next Saturday in Mabee Arena.

It could have been very easy for the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes to check things in and be on the wrong end of another lopsided decision after trailing by 19 at the half against the Ottawa Braves on Wednesday evening at Mabee Arena. Instead, Coach Chris Fear and the rest of the Coyotes had different plans. The Coyotes put together an incredible second half run, but fell just short in a 92-85 decision to Ottawa.

Wesleyan saw itself down by ten with two minutes to go in the first half after a pair of free throws by Michael Johnson, but two charity tosses by Corey Smith, a Zach Brown triple and four points by Stephen Feighny would send the Braves into the half up 52-33.

The Coyotes, who still remain slightly shorthanded with Krubiel Workie and Jeff Schwerdtfager on the sidelines with injuries, did welcome back Scott Weber who had missed the last three games with a shoulder injury suffered on December 28 against Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Wesleyan (2-18, 0-9 KCAC) came out of the half with a renewed energy taking Ottawa's lead down to 12 points with 18:02 to go on a three by Dylan Briscoe and would again trail by just 12 with 15:19 to go on a Johnson three-point play that made it 59-47.

Ottawa (7-21, 4-5 KCAC) regained a 17-point lead and maintained it at the 11:40 mark on a bucket by Adam Hasty before Wesleyan started to chip away again. A Dane Brinker score, a bucket by Jason Carter, followed by another by Seth Smith got the Coyotes within 11 at 70-59 with 9:51 to go before Colin Nichols scored to break the Wesleyan run.

Aaron Wright scored for the Coyotes to get them again within 11 as both teams traded baskets until Ottawa was able to go back up by 15 with 5:59 to go on a score by Chase Dippel.

Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip said the Coyotes again using a Briscoe triple and a score by Brinker to get within 10 with 4:47 to go forcing an Ottawa timeout. Colby Regier put Ottawa up by 15 again with 3:14 to go before a Seth Smith three got the Coyotes within a dime again at 87-77 with 1:03 left.

Forced to foul, Wesleyan saw Ottawa go up by 13 again on a free throw by Dippel, but a Brinker three and a Brock Borovetz score got the deficit into single digits at 90-82 with 21.3 seconds left. After a pair of free throws by Ottawa, Brinker was fouled on a three, but missed all three free throws with 6.8 to go but Borovetz nailed a three with 2.3 seconds left to get the Coyotes within the final score of 92-85.

Ottawa opened the game scoring the first seven points, and later extended its lead to 16-5 on a layup by Kameron Lindsay with 15:01 to go in the first half. A three-point play by Smith put Ottawa up 19-7 before the Coyotes would respond with a nice run of their own.

A Briscoe three sparked an 11-2 run for Wesleyan that got them back within three at 21-18 with 7:56 left on a bucket by Ty Dean. A triple by Chris Weston for Ottawa and another ranger from Briscoe kept the Coyotes within three with 6:56 to go when Ottawa made another big move.

A 15-2 charge by the Braves that included three straight three-pointers pushed the Braves out to a 39-23 lead with 4:04 to go before the break. A three by Brock Borovetz got Wesleyan's offense back on track as the Coyotes would get back within 10 points with two minutes left on Johnson's free throws.  

Brinker scored a career high 21 points to lead the Coyotes who shot 32-of-76 from the field for 42.1 percent, fueled by a 52-point second half. Briscoe added 15 and Borovetz had 16 for the Coyotes. Ty Dean had eight rebounds to lead the way.

Smith had a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead Ottawa, while Dippel had 16 for the Braves who shot 33-of-67 from the field for 49.3 percent, but cooled off in the second half (43.3 percent) after shooting 54 percent in the first 20 minutes.

The Coyotes are back in action on Saturday as they open the second half of KCAC play at Bethany.

The Kansas Wesleyan Women's Basketball team needed overtime to get by the Ottawa Braves on Wednesday night at Mabee Arena. The Coyotes held off a potential game winner by Ottawa at the buzzer and outscored the Braves 7-2 in the extra session to come away with a 66-61 win.

The game was not a thing of beauty by any means for either team. The end of the game was a wild scramble with the Coyotes blowing a three-point lead in the final two and a half minutes and having a chance with win the game on free throws with 13.3 seconds left but missing both and Ottawa's shot at the winner at the buzzer by KiKi Smith that bounced off the rim.

Wesleyan controlled the overtime, scoring the first seven points of the extra session before Paige Gibson scored for Ottawa with 2.1 seconds left.

The way the Coyotes opened the game, it looked like it was going to be another lopsided win for Wesleyan over Ottawa as a three by Montric Santee gave the Coyotes a 12-4 lead with 14:58 to go in the first half.

The Coyotes took a ten point lead at 19-9 with 9:16 to go and maintained control throughout the first half using a Vanessa Kresin triple and a bucket by Santee to take a 24-13 lead with 4:38 to go before the break.

Ottawa scored the final five points of the first half that halved Wesleyan's lead to make It 28-23 at intermission.

A score by Rhys Pihl with 18:10 to go put Wesleyan back up by seven at 32-25, but Ottawa used a 14-5 run to take its first lead of the night with 14:15 left on a bucket by Shauna McClure that made it 39-37. A score by Pihl followed by a Shelby Babcock three put Wesleyan back up 42-39, but four straight by Shannon Carlin put Ottawa back ahead 43-42 with 9:28 left.

The lead swung back and forth over the next five minutes before a Stephanie Frost bucket with 4:09 to go put Wesleyan back ahead 53-52 as the Coyotes built a three-point margin with 3:32 to go and held it again with 2:28 to go on free throws by Alecia Smith.

Gibson nailed a three with 1:26 left to tie the game at 57 and Pihl converted with 1:01 left to give Wesleyan a 59-57 lead. Carlin then stole the ball from Santee and scored with 23 seconds left to tie things at 59.

Santee was fouled with 13.3 to go, but missed both foul shots setting up Ottawa's last chance at the buzzer.

Wesleyan (11-9, 6-3 KCAC) was again led by Alecia Smith with 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Coyotes shot 36.2 percent from the field in the game. Santee had 15 points despite going 2-of-10 from the line and Babcock added 11 off the bench.

Ottawa (6-12, 4-5 KCAC) was led by Carlin's 20 as the Braves shot 25-of-62 from the field for 40.3 percent. Gibson had 14 for the Braves. Amber Ramsey and Carlin shared top rebounding honors with eight each.

The Coyotes are back in action on Saturday as they open the second half of KCAC play at Bethany.

By the way the game started, one would have thought the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes were well on their way to snapping their long losing streak and picking up their first KCAC win in 2011-12. Then the tides changed. The Coyotes saw a nine-point lead evaporate as the Friends Falcons took control of the game and came away with a lopsided 101-68 win on Saturday night at Mabee Arena.

Wesleyan (2-17, 0-8 KCAC) was up by nine points 14-5 after a Dylan Briscoe three with 15:45 left in the first half and appeared in control of the game at that point. The Coyotes continued to hold their lead, fighting off several mini runs by the Falcons.

The Coyotes were up six when Friends' Thomas Bland stuck back his own miss and then was whistled for a technical foul after the play, getting the Friends bench in an uproar. A three by Dane Brinker with 8:14 to go put Wesleyan up eight at 26-18 when Friends' coach Dale Faber was warned by the officials. That was when the game changed drastically in favor of the Falcons.

Eight straight points by Friends tied the score at 26-all with 6:19 to go in the half on a bucket by John Bridges. Jason Carter hit a pair of free throws to keep Wesleyan ahead, but Friends took their first lead of the night on a three by Reggie Britton with 4:08 to go.

A three by Seth Smith and a Ty Dean score put the Coyotes up 35-31 with 3:15 to go before the half when Friends turned up the offensive jets, getting back-to-back-to-back triples to spark a 12-0 run into the half that gave the Falcons a 43-35 lead at the break.

The shorthanded Coyotes, who have been without Scott Weber and Jeff Schwerdtfager for several games and were without Krubiel Workie tonight, never got closer than seven points the remainder of the game.

Briscoe hit a three just seconds into the second half to get the Coyotes within seven after Friends had opened the half with a bucket, but a 6-0 run by the Falcons put them up 13 with 18:17 to go.

A dunk by Carter got the Coyotes back within eight at 51-43 with 17:18 left, but a 16-5 run by Friends put the Falcons up 19 on Dylan Hawkins's rebound and basket with 13:09 left.

A steal and layup by Wakefield with 3:26 left put Friends up 30 points as the Falcon lead grew to 34-points at 101-67 with 18 seconds left on a bucket by Eli Applegate.

Friends (8-12, 3-5 KCAC) had four players in double figures led by Britton with 20, while Wakefield finished with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Falcons shot 55.2 percent in the game fueled by a 20-of-32 (62.5 percent) effort in the second half.

The Coyotes got 16 points and six rebounds from Seth Smith to lead the way for the Coyotes who were 23-of-62 from the floor for 37.1 percent. Four other players had four rebounds each and Briscoe was the only other Coyote in double figures with 12.

Wesleyan wraps the first half of KCAC play on Wednesday when they host Ottawa University at Mabee Arena. The Coyotes then open the second half of KCAC play on Saturday at Bethany.

The displeasure of Coach Gordon Reimer with some of his starting players was very evident tonight as the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes hosted the No. 20 ranked Friends Falcons on Saturday night at Mabee Arena. Three of the five starting players played less than 17 minutes in the game, not counting Rebekah Bunde who came into the game battling illness and then was injured just three minutes into the game, and played sparingly after. Despite playing several bench players for a majority of the game, the Coyotes were able to close in late on Friends but fell 60-50 to the Falcons.

Maybe there was some carryover from Thursday night's win over McPherson, in which the Coyotes didn't really show any emotion en route to the 20-point win. Needing emotion and drive tonight, the Coyotes didn't have it.

Trailing by 14 at the half, 33-19 and shooting just 27.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, the Coyotes found themselves down 22 points just over four minutes into the half on free throws by Friends' Ashley Mills.

By that time, a frustrated Reimer had already subbed out three starters and was turning to the bench to keep the Coyotes in the game. Herald the bench, who did just what they were asked. Friends never got ahead by more than 23 points, at the 8:08 mark on a pair of free throws by Bre Selves. That was when Wesleyan made its move.

Six straight points by Alecia Smith coupled with four turnovers in sis possessions by Friends, the Coyotes started chipping away at the Friends lead. Smith made it eight in a row at the four-minute mark and Taylor Ebert scored on a coast-to-coast layup to cut the Friends lead to 13 with 3:31 to go. The Coyotes put together a 12-0 run to get within 11 at 54-43 with 2:53 to go before Friends' Sydney Henderson broke the run with 2:25 to go.

Bethany Jeffery's bucket with 11 seconds left got Wesleyan back within 10 before Friends ran out the clock for the win.

Wesleyan (10-9, 5-3 KCAC) led early 6-3 with 16:51 to go in the first half on free throws by Smith, who was the only Coyote in double figures with 17 points, but a 12-3 by Friends run capped by a bucket by Jessika Crews with 13:22 to go put the Falcons ahead for good.

The Coyotes were within a pair at 15-13 with 10:43 to go in the half, but the Falcons would push their lead out to nine points with 5:11 to go on Abby Fawcett's score that made it 24-15 and the Friends lead would hit double digits at the 1:45 mark on a three-point play by Fawcett.

Smith's 17 paced the Coyotes who shot 15-of-52 from the field for 32.7 percent in the game, while Vanessa Kresin had eight points. The other four starters for the Coyotes combined for six points. Smith also led the Coyotes on the boards with five.

Friends (14-6, 8-0 KCAC) was led by Fawcett with 17 while Crews had a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double as the Falcons shot 24-of-50 from the field for 48 percent.

Wesleyan wraps up the first half of KCAC play on Wednesday when they host Ottawa University at 6 p.m., in Mabee Arena. The second half of KCAC play begins Saturday at Bethany.

The Kansas Wesleyan University Spirit Teams will hold a Stunt and Tumble Clinic on Sunday, January 29, at the Salina Y, 570 YMCA Drive, from Noon until 3 p.m.

The clinic is open to interested persons ages 9 and up, and there is a $30 per person registration fee.

Participants under age 18 must sign a waiver form prior to participating in the clinic.

For more information about the clinic, and to register, please contact David Almeida, Kansas Wesleyan Spirit Coach, at 785.827.5541, ext. 3230, or by email at david.almeida@kwu.edu