Milestone performances by Cheeseman, Carr lift No. 14 DWU past No. 10 SXU

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. – Thanks to a career-high 34 points by Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) and a gritty performance by the No. 14 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team, they came away victorious over No. 10 St. Xavier University, 82-78 Thursday at the Cruzin' Classic in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

 Both teams got off to a quick start as Cheeseman gave the Tigers (11-4) an early 7-5 lead following a 3-pointer. After DWU took a 17-14 lead on a Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) layup, the Cougars (11-3) finished the quarter on a 13-5 run to hold a 27-22 lead.

 Freshman Matti Reiner (Tripp, S.D.) kicked off the second period with a 3-pointer to liven the Tigers. Moments later, Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) made a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 27.

 With under five minutes to play, Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) scored five-straight points to give DWU a 37-32 lead. However, SXU went on a 5-0 run of its' own to tie the game with two minutes to play in the half.

 But a Karst 3-pointer and a Carr layup gave DWU a 42-37 advantage as they teams headed to the locker rooms.

 Carr and Cheeseman scored the first nine points of the second half for the Tigers as they took an 11-point lead, forcing a Cougar timeout.

 With five minutes left in the third quarter, Rynn Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) made a layup to push the lead up to 13 points. But SXU went on another run to end the third period to cut into the DWU lead as the Tigers held onto a 61-58 lead with 10 minutes to play.

 With 4:10 left in the game, Karst knocked down a jump shot to put DWU up by six points, followed by a 30-second timeout by DWU.

 SXU answered with a basket of their own, but Cheeseman responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to eight points. Cheeseman knocked down six free throws in the final minutes of the game to help DWU hold on for the victory.

 Along with Cheeseman's career-high 34 points, she added six assists and five rebounds. Carr added a stellar performance with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Karst notched 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. With their performances, Cheeseman moved into third on program's all-time scoring list with 1,801 career points, surpassing Victoria Drefs, while Carr moved into 10^th with 1,479 career points, passing Rylie Osthus.

 DWU shot 47.5% from the field, 44.4% from 3-point range and 84.2% from the free-throw line. The Tigers outrebounded the Cougars, 48-29 and added 34 points in the paint.

 DWU returns home to host College of Saint Mary at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2 at the Corn Palace.