MITCHELL, S.D. – Junior forward Matti Reiner matched a season-high 23 points, and the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team outscored conference opponent No. 9 Morningside, 28-21, in the third quarter, however, it was Morningside who pulled out the 80-74 road victory on Wednesday evening from the Corn Palace in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Morningside marched out to a 10-8 lead at the 5:23 mark of the first quarter despite a defensive block by Rynn Osthus and an ensuing basket inside by Lacey Sprakel. MU answered immediately with a 3-pointer off the release from Sophia Peppers, who finished the night with a game-high 24 points while the Mustangs (24-4, 19-2 GPAC) shot 31-of-58 (53.4%) from the floor.
Dakota Wesleyan fought back to claim the lead momentarily, 13-12, off a 3-point basket from Kaylee Kirk and trailed by two at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers (22-7, 14-7 GPAC) knocked down six triples in the contest and shot 41.2% from the court. Natalie Gottlob found the basket off a dish from Kirk with 14 seconds remaining in the stanza while Morningside held the 17-15 edge.
Aspen Hansen propelled the DWU offense to begin the second period with another Tiger 3-pointer off a pass from Osthus. The Blue and Gray tallied 18 assists in the outing while Gottlob and Kirk followed with converted jump shots midway through period to force a MU timeout. DWU held its then largest advantage of the night, 22-17.
Unphased, the Mustangs closed the stanza on a 22-7 spurt to end the first half and led by double-digits at the intermission, 39-29. Reiner, who now sits with over 800-career points in her DWU career, notched an old-fashioned 3-point play to keep the Tigers within reach down the stretch. Yet, Morningside senior Sierra Mitchell registered a late layup to give the Mustangs the momentum at the break.
The MU benefit steadied at 10 points to open the third quarter in spite of baskets by Hansen and Reiner. Morningside pressed on with a pair of assists and forced a timeout by head coach Jason Christensen and the Tigers with 6:52 remaining as the Mustangs led 46-37.
Isabel Ihnen instigated an 8-0 Tiger run out of the break as DWU pulled within one while Jada Campbell and Hansen continued the momentum. Dakota Wesleyan, thanks to the offensive outburst, outscored Morningside, 28-21, in the third frame and trailed by three as the game reached the final 10 minutes of action.
DWU attempted a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter as the Tigers cut the deficit to a single possession multiple times. However, it was Morningside who won the fourth quarter, 20-17 and held on for the 80-74 road victory.
Campbell secured a team-high seven rebounds while Dakota Wesleyan grabbed 33 boards on the night. Hansen also reached double figures scoring with 10 points while the Tigers notched 10 steals defensively.
UP NEXT
DWU concludes the regular season at home versus conference foe Concordia University at 4 p.m. on Saturday from the Corn Palace as DWU celebrates its two seniors, Kirk and Gottlob.