MITCHELL, S.D. – Thanks to a 26-7 run over a five-minute span in the second quarter, the No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team downed No. 7 Morningside College, 95-93 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference contest on Senior Night on Saturday in the Corn Palace.
In the opening moments of the game, it was jump shots by Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) and Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) that kept DWU within a point.
The Mustangs (19-8, 13-6 GPAC) kept their hot shooting going throughout the first quarter as they held a 12-8 lead midway through the quarter.
However, with just under four minutes to play in the period, Cheeseman dished the ball to Jessica Mieras (Sioux Falls, S.D.) who made her layup. After a 3-pointer, Morningside took an eight-point lead to the second period.
The Mustangs strung together a 10-4 run between the two quarters to hold a 25-19 lead. Morningside continued to pull away throughout the quarter as they held a 36-22 lead with 5:23 to play in the half.
But, the Tigers (18-8, 11-7 GPAC) put a 26-7 run of their own together throughout the remainder of the half. During the run, Rynn Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) found a cutting Carr four an easy layup to pull the Tigers within 10 points.
On the following possession, Cheeseman found Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) open beyond the 3-point arc as she knocked down her shot to chip away at the deficit. Following another 3-pointer by Karst, Osthus made a layup and was fouled. She made her ensuing free throw to give the Tigers the first lead of the game with 2:25 to play in the first half.
As the clock was winding down, Osthus snagged an offensive rebound and put the ball back up for a layup as the buzzer sounded to give DWU a 48-43 lead at halftime.
After the Mustangs pulled within two points, Mieras and Osthus made baskets to help distance the Tigers again. A Cheeseman 3-pointer moments later helped extend the lead to nine points.
Morningside hung around until they tied the game at 61 with 4:21 to play in the third stanza. But a Kamryn Heinz (Ipswich, S.D.) basket from beyond the arc helped the Tigers regain the lead.
To begin the final quarter, Cheeseman knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to cushion the DWU lead to nine points. With 6:22 left to play, Cheeseman buried another shot from downtown to push the lead to double digits.
The Mustangs continued to chip away at the DWU lead until they tied the game at 88 with just over a minute to play. However, free throws by Cheeseman, Karst and Osthus and a key defensive stop down the stretch sealed the victory for the Tigers.
Osthus neared a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Carr notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Cheeseman led the team in scoring with 28 points and chipped in seven assists.
The Tigers hit the road to battle Mount Marty College at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Yankton, S.D.
