WINFIELD – It was the style of play Ryan Showman had been wanting and waiting to see from his Kansas Wesleyan women's basketball team.
An impressive 17-0 run the spanned the first and second quarters and consumed more than six minutes on the clock sent KWU on its way to an 81-68 Kansas Conference victory over Southwestern on Wednesday night inside Stewart Field House.
With the game tied 9-9 midway through the first quarter the Coyotes embarked on the surge that gave them a 26-9 lead early in the third quarter.
"We were very patient," Showman said. "We were still aggressive but we weren't in a hurry and that's something we had talked about since coming back from the break. "Moving the defense from side to side, not taking that first shot and I thought they did a really great job of finding the right shot at the right time with the right person."
KWU eventually led by as many as 31 points (59-28) with 6½ minutes left in the third quarter before the Moundbuilders narrowed the gap the final 10 minutes.
The Coyotes improved to 6-7, 4-3 in the KCAC; Southwestern fell to 0-11 and 0-7. Showman said the holiday break allowed him and his players to work on some areas of concern.
"It was nice to get back together after Christmas and focus on some pieces that we needed to be better at and you saw that tonight," he said. "I was really happy with what we were able to do."
Daijane Adams led the way with 19 points that included 5 of 7 shooting from 3-point range and had a game-best nine rebounds. Jill Stephens added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Adams and Stephens were a combined 13 of 23 shooting. LaMyah Ricks and Catherine Bowman scored nine apiece as nine Coyotes scored in the game. Ricks also had four assists and four rebounds.
KWU shot 39.2 percent (29 of 74) overall including 9 of 27 from long distance and won the rebounding battle 42-35. Macey Pond's 18 points lead Southwestern, which shot 41.3 percent (26 of 63). Showman was forced to alter his lineup after injuries took a toll during the week.
"We kind of had to adjust on the fly today and I thought that the ladies handled it really, really well," he said.
The Coyotes led 50-26 at halftime and took a 70-48 lead into the fourth quarter. The final score was as close as Southwestern got after the first quarter.
KWU plays conference co-leader Tabor at 5 p.m. Saturday inside Mabee Arena. The Bluejays (10-3, 7-0 KCAC) defeated Friends 58-54 Wednesday night in Wichita.