LEAVENWORTH - Sometimes things just don't go the way you expect them to, so you have to adjust and find other ways to achieve the desired result.
That's just what the Kansas Wesleyan Women's Basketball team did on Saturday against the Saint Mary Spires.
Wesleyan overcame 25.9 percent shooting from the field for the game with an outstanding effort from the free throw line as the Coyotes toppled the Spires 66-54 inside the Ryan Sports Center.
The win was the ninth in a row for the Coyotes who improved to 11-2 overall and 7-0 in the KCAC.
"What a great, great win against a really great team," Wesleyan head coach Ryan Showman said on the post-game radio show. "I thought defensively (Saint Mary) did a great job taking away action within our offense, but then we just got downhill and we put them at a disadvantage and we got to the free throw line so I am really pleased with this."
While the shots were going in for the Coyotes, Saint Mary was struggling from the field as well, the Spires shooting just 27.9 percent from the field which included hitting just 2 of 18 3-point tries in the game.
It was 11-8 after a quarter in favor of the Coyotes as the teams shot a combined 6 of 26 from the field, but the second quarter was exceptionally challenging for the visitors who went over eight minutes without a point, falling behind six at 17-11 with 3:55 left in the half.
Jill Stephens hit a 3-pointer with 3:42 left breaking the scoreless drought and the Coyotes got back into it, trailing by just a point 18-17 with 2:25 to go on a pair of Jocelyn Hall free throws.
Showman said he was not worried despite the team's struggles in the quarter.
"There was no panic, even when we were scoring six points in the second quarter when we are used to 20 or 25 in a quarter, there was no panic," he said. "We talked at halftime, we knew defensively we had to adjust a couple of things, and a couple of little things offensively we needed to do better.
"I told them we are going to make shots, it's going to happen, stay with it, we are getting good looks. And we were able to score enough points to get out of here with a big road win."
Things turned in Wesleyan's favor to start the third quarter. The Coyotes flew out of the gates getting a bucket by Angel Lee, a 3-point play by Hampton Williams and free throws by Paige Chauncey to take a 24-19 lead with 8:04 left in the quarter.
The Spires got back within a point with 6:42 left at 27-26, but the Coyotes would hold the lead. Saint Mary got it within a point again at 33-32 with 3:39 left in the third, but the Coyotes would build as much as an 8-point cushion with 1:11 to go on free throws by Ricks.
Wesleyan went to the line 26 times in the third quarter, continually driving to the basket and drawing contact from Saint Mary.
The Coyotes pushed the lead to double digits for the first time at 51-40 on Lee's bucket with 8:05 left in the game, and Catherine Bowman's 3-pointer with 5:36 left gave the Coyotes their biggest lead of the night at 56-44.
Defense played a huge factor in the game for both sides as a pair of the top guards in the conference went up against each other in Ricks and Alanis Delgado for Saint Mary. Showman credits Ricks' defensive efforts against Delgado as a key factor in the win.
"I thought our game plan was really good that we had good buy-in from our team, we knew our personnel. I thought LaMyah Ricks did an awesome job against Alanis Delgado," he said. "Watching two of the best point guards in our league was fun. Seeing LaMyah take big steps to turn Delgado into a high-volume shooter, I am proud of that effort. And we forced some tough shots and misses."
The Coyotes never let Saint Mary closer than eight points the rest of the game.
Williams led all scorers in the game, dropping in 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Coyotes. Lee added 11 and Ricks had eight.
Delgado had 13 for the Spires and Katelynn Ostronic had 10 before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Coyotes are now off until December 31 when they head to Tahlequah, Oklahoma to take on NCAA Division II Northeastern State in an exhibition contest.