DWU women win classic in Yankton, advance to GPAC title game

YANKTON, S.D. – In front of a packed crowd, that was dressed in as much Tiger black as Lancer white, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team fought hard for an overtime win over Mount Marty College in the semifinals of the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday at Cimpl Arena in Yankton, S.D.

Junior forward Erica Herrold (Dimock, S.D.) hit a layup in the closing seconds of regulation to push the game to overtime and the No. 10 Tigers made their free throws in the extra session to top the No. 14 Lancers 82-78. The win puts DWU into the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Tigers earn an automatic bid as a result of facing No. 2 Morningside College, the regular season GPAC champion, in the conference title game on Tuesday.

DWU was perfect from the line in the win, knocking in all 21 of its attempts from the line. The performance was the second 100 percent night from the line this season for the Tigers. DWU got to the line throughout by getting the ball down low to Herrold and the other Tiger forwards.

The Tigers needed every make as the Lancers would not back down. MMC guard Alex Kneeland hit big shot after big shot, finishing with 36 points and six 3-pointers. Every point was crucial as the game saw 21 lead changes and nine ties, with the largest lead belonging to DWU at seven points with 3:44 to go in the first quarter.

DWU led by a single point at the half, but MMC came out and quickly took the advantage in the third quarter. MMC led by five points late in the third, but the teams traded big shots throughout the fourth, leading to overtime. The packed crowd of 1,321 saw the Tigers outscore MMC 8-4 in the overtime session, with six Tiger points coming from the line.

Four Tigers finished in double figures, led by Herrold's 22 on 6-of-14 shooting. Junior forward Kristin Sabers came off the bench to score 17, while grabbing five rebounds and picking up a big block in the second half. Prior to fouling out, sophomore forward Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.) scored 14 points, while freshman guard Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) added 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Tigers shot 26-of-61 from the field, 9-of-25 from deep and 21-of-21 from the line. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 38-30, while finishing with 19 assists and seven turnovers.

Kneeland's 36 led all scorers, while Logan Wagner added 13 points. MMC shot 23-of-55 from the field, 12-of-28 from 3-point range and 20-of-24 from the line.

DWU moves on to the GPAC title game to take on Morningside at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Sioux City, Iowa. The Mustangs won the two regular seasons matchups.