Fayette, Mo. – The Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball team played a very hard-fought game against the number one team in the country but came up short for a 57-53 final. The Tigers were unable to overcome their 21 turnovers in the game and poor shooting from the free throw line (12-18) when just a night ago they shot 14-14. DWU had one of their better defensive showings of the year holding the high powered Eagles offense to just 57 points (fewest on the season) on 31.3% shooting but couldn't overcome the turnovers. The Tigers conclude their season with a 23-9 record. Dakota Wesleyan was led by the two seniors that did it all year in Matti Reiner with 15 points and Jada Campbell with her 13 points and 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double.
Stat Leaders:
Points – Matti Reiner (15)
Assists – Matti Reiner (5)
Rebounds – Jada Campbell (12)
Blocks – Jada Campbell (4)
Steals –Four Players (1)
Recap –
The DWU Tigers won the tip and got right to work inside with Campbell who had a lot tougher matchup going up against 6-3 Forward, Leah Johnson. Campbell couldn't get any of her first attempts to fall but Dakota Wesleyan, who was one of the best rebounding teams in the GPAC, was crashing the offensive glass recording back-to-back second chance buckets. The Eagles answered the Tigers with two buckets of their own with their low post and fast paced offense. CMU was out and running on each defensive rebounds exposing the Tigers being a little late in transition resulting in a big 8-0 run drawing a timeout from Christensen with the score 12-4 Eagles. Dakota Wesleyan knocked the lead down to five thanks to a jumper from Reiner and three pointer from Morgan Edelman. The Tigers in the next minutes uncharacteristically turned the ball over four times due to the Eagles physical on ball full court defense. DWU picked it up on the defensive keeping CMU scoreless from the 6:35 to 3:28 mark. Campbell started to find her rhythm in the post getting the Tigers within one, thanks to three straight buckets. CMU closed the quarter on a 7-0 run for a 23-15 lead after one.
Edelman open the second quarter pouring in two straight buckets for the Tigers, cutting the Eagles lead to seven with them going almost bucket for bucket. Rylee Rosenquist got the Tiger faithful fired up stepping in and taking a charge for her team and they would stay up with Ihnen following shortly will a deep range shot to cut the lead to five with 6:26 left. The Eagles were playing a very fast paced transition type of offense trying to just outrun the Tigers. DWU did a lot better job in the second quarter getting back on misses and getting into their defensive set. Campbell was showing early to hold her own in the paint holding Johnson to just four points on 2-7 shooting to this point. Christensen stayed with the game plan of having fresh legs on the court, especially due to the Eagles fast paced transition offense. The Tigers really dialed up the defense in the closing six minutes only allowing one bucket which was in the final seconds of the quarter. On the offensive side DWU went on a 7-2 run during that span to cut the Eagles lead to 31-28 heading to half. Both teams were extremely active on the offensive glass with DWU grabbing nine and CMU recording 11 during the half. Dakota Wesleyan shot 36.4% from the floor compared to Central Methodist shooting 30.0% and the Tigers won the first half rebound battle 27-23. The difference in the game is the Tigers having 11 turnovers compared to the Eagles five. DWU spread it around as they usually do with all the different looks and sets they throw at teams with Edelman leading the way with nine followed by Reiner and Campbell with six each.
The third quarter had the Tigers really struggling with the on-ball pressure forcing them into making careless passes that turned into turnovers. DWU held their own on the defensive side, like they have all season keeping it close with the Eagles for a 41-35 score midway through the quarter. Campbell was the main source of offense during the stretch. Dakota Wesleyan stayed with their man to man defense, switching on screens which the Eagles were having a little tough time with trying to find space. Reiner knocked down a big three pointer with 3:30 left off an inbound play to cut the lead to one again. The Tigers then followed with a steal but couldn't get the layup to go in transition. The Eagles grabbed the board and were off to the races like they have all game and got the Tigers lagging again for a wide open layup to push their lead back to three with 2:51 left in the third. With under a minute to play Rosenquist drove in and kicked out to a wide open Reiner who knocked down the three to tie the game at 43. The Eagles got a bucket to go in the last minute and Rosenquist hit a free throw in the closing seconds for a 45-44 Eagles lead heading to the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter started with a very puzzling shot clock violation on the Tigers before the shot clock buzzer went off, but after review they stayed with the call leaving the score where it is. With 7:30 remaining in the quarter Reiner knocked down an elbow jumper to claim the lead for the Tigers at 48-47. Campbell got the Tiger fans going with a huge block on the defensive side and then going down and drawing a foul and knocking down one of two free throws for a 49-47 Tiger lead. The two squads would go bucket for bucket in the next minutes, but have the Eagles tying it up at 51 with 3:14 left on the clock and them taking a full timeout.
DWU to this point in the game was 12-18 from the free throw line and turned the ball over 20 times which is not like the Tigers brand of basketball they have played all season. Typically a team that takes care of the ball and just a night ago shot 14-14 from the free throw line. The missed free throws could be due to the loud packed home crowd. Dakota Wesleyan really struggling with the full court pressure from the Eagles struggled to get in their sets and forced to take low percentage shots that didn't fall, while on the CMU side they would get a free throw and a and one basket to fall but miss the free throw for a 54-51 Eagles lead with 40 seconds left in the game. The Tigers called timeout to advance the ball and draw up a play. Reiner after a couple passes pulled up for three but was blocked by the CMU defender. Edelman was quick to foul, resulting in her fouling out with 11 points and five rebounds. The Eagles hit one of two making it a two-possession game with 20 seconds left. The Tigers turned the ball over on their offensive possession. The Eagles hit both free throws and Rosenquist got a layup to go but wouldn't be enough for a 57-53 final.
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball concludes their 2022-23 season with a 23-9 record.