No. 8 Tigers handle No. 9 Jimmies in nonconference action

MITCHELL, S.D. – The No. 8 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team began their 2017-18 campaign with a top-10 battle against No. 9 the University of Jamestown and came away with an impressive victory as they downed the Jimmies, 87-69 Tuesday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

 The Jimmies (2-1) started the game quickly as they nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to take an early 6-0 lead. The Tigers (1-0) struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the opening five minutes of the game until Madison Mathews (Draper, S.D.) nailed a 3-point shot to kickstart the DWU offense.

 Following the 3-pointer by Mathews, DWU went on a 16-6 run to close out the first quarter that was capped off by an Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.) 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 19-17 lead heading into the second quarter.

 DWU continued to flex their muscles on both ends of the court during the second quarter as they added 22 points and held the Jimmies to just 33 percent shooting from the field.

 The Tigers opened the scoring in the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter as they took a 22-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the game.

 However, Jamestown would not go away quietly as they put together a run of their own and cut the DWU lead to single digits with under four minutes remaining. Despite the late run by the Jimmies, free throws down the stretch proved to be too much as DWU kept Jamestown at bay to secure the victory.

 Bray led the team with 18 points and five rebounds, while Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.) added 15 points and seven rebounds. Coming off the bench, Jessica Mieras (Sioux Falls, S.D.) tallied 13 points and five rebounds in her first game in a Tiger uniform. Chesney Nagel (Avon, S.D.) and Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Tigers shot 52 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free-throw line.

 DWU is back in action in the South Dakota NAIA Classic against Presentation College at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.