No. 2 Tigers hit century mark in victory over Trojans

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – After eclipsing the century mark, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team cruised to victory over in-state rival Dakota State University, 106-63 Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

 The Trojans (0-3) got off to a hot start early taking a 5-2 lead a minute into the game. Both teams traded baskets in the first three minutes as neither team could take command of the game. The Tigers (2-0) scored nine unanswered points, including a Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) 3-point shot as DWU opened a 16-10 lead.

 The Tigers began to pull away in the late moments of the first quarter as they strung together a 17-4 run to take a 33-16 lead heading to the second stanza.

 DWU held a 20-point lead four minutes into the second quarter until freshman Rebecca Buchholz (Highmore, S.D.) and senior Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) nailed back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup by Osthus to push the lead to 28 points. DWU continued to pull away as they held a 58-32 lead at halftime.

 The Tigers began the second half just as they ended the first as Cheeseman hit a 3-pointer followed by a Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) layup and 3-pointer.

 With less than five minutes to play, Cheeseman drove to the basket and finished the drive as she connected on the layup to push the Tigers over 100 points and onto victory.

 Cheeseman led all scorers with 28 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc along with five assists. Carr added 20 points and seven rebounds, while Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) tallied 16 points and four rebounds. The Tigers shot 68.4 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point range. The Tigers outrebounded DSU 34-17 and forced 24 Trojan turnovers.

 DWU takes on Presentation College at 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.