No. 7 DWU cruises past Vikings

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team stepped out of conference action to play Valley City State University and won easily, 93-66 Saturday in Valley City, N.D.

 The Vikings (2-4) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening minute. But Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) made a jump shot followed by a 3-point basket to give the Tigers (5-2) a 5-4 lead.

 Cheeseman continued to dominate in the opening minutes as she tallied two more field goals to put DWU up, 13-8. After VCSU pulled within three points, Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) nailed a 3-pointer, as Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) made a two-point basket to extend the DWU lead.

 With the clock running down in the first quarter, Carr converted on another field goal to hand the Tigers a 30-16 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

 Carr and Cheeseman opened the second period with a basket apiece as those were the only baskets through the first five minutes of play. After the Vikings made it a 10-point game with 2:40 left in the half, the Tigers made six free throws and a 3-pointer by Matti Reiner (Tripp, S.D.) to cushion their lead back to 15 points at halftime.

 DWU opened the second half on an 8-2 run through two minutes, forcing a Viking timeout. With under three minutes to play in the third quarter, VCSU pulled back within 12 points. However, that was as close as they would get as the Tigers extended their lead back to 14 points with one quarter to play.

 After taking a timeout with 5:29 to play, Carr knocked down a 3-point shot and Kirk made a basket of her own to give the Tigers a 20-point lead. The Tigers never looked back as they outscored the Vikings in the final quarter, 30-17.

 Cheeseman led all scorers with 30 points and six rebounds, while Carr chipped in 29 points and six boards. DWU shot 50 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from 3-point range.

 The Tigers return to conference play to host Briar Cliff University at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Corn Palace.