Karst tallies career high as Tigers pound Saints

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a game of runs in the final women's game at the NAIA Classic, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team handled Presentation College, 91-49 Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

 With the score tied at four early, the Saints (2-3) made a layup and a 3-pointer to take a 9-4 lead. DWU answered with a 10-3 run to regain the lead.

 The Tigers (3-0) continued to extend their lead as they finished the first quarter on an 18-3 run to take a 22-12 lead.

 Minutes into the second stanza, Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) found Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) behind the arc as she nailed a 3-pointer to give DWU a 12-point lead. The Tigers went on another run to close out the first half as they strung together a 17-8 scoring run to hold a 47-28 lead at halftime.

 The Tiger defense came alive in the third quarter as they held the Saints to just eight points and 20 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, Karst got the scoring started with a 3-pointer, followed by a Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) 3-pointer in the opening two DWU possessions of the half.

 With under two minutes left in the third quarter, Karst missed on a 3-pointer, but Cheeseman hauled in the offensive rebound and put the layup back up to give DWU a 70-34 lead. With the clock winding down, freshman Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) found fellow freshman Sydney Halling (Harrisburg, S.D.) for a layup as the Tigers held a 72-36 lead heading into the final quarter.

 Following another defensive stop, Madison Mathews (Draper, S.D.) pitched the ball ahead to Halling running the court as she finished the fast-break layup. In the closing minutes of the game, freshman Natalie Gottlob (Salem, S.D.) spun her way around her defender and made the layup as she was fouled. Gottlob made the ensuing free throw as DWU finished the weekend 2-0 at the NAIA Classic.

 Karst finished with a career-high 19 points and five rebounds. Cheeseman tallied 17 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Carr notched 15 points and four rebounds. The Tigers shot 45.8 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc.

 The Tigers are next in action against NCAA Division I foe, the University of Iowa in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Iowa City, Iowa.