December 2, 2023

TIGERS PULL AWAY LATE BEHIND YOST 22 POINTS IN DWU 63-52 WIN OVER MIDLAND

Dakota Wesleyan

5-2, 4-1

Midland

2-8, 0-5

Final

Dakota Wesleyan 5-2, 4-1

Midland 2-8, 0-5

Fremont, Neb. – Dakota Wesleyan picked up their 16^th straight win against the Midland Warriors 63-52. It was a tight back and forth defensive battle for most of the game, but the Tigers made the plays when they needed it down the stretch to pull away late. DWU was led by Emma Yost with her third 20+ point performance of the season with 22 and nine rebounds. Dakota Wesleyan won this one at the free throw line going an efficient 14-16 compared to the Warriors 9-14.

Highlighted Player– Emma Yost 22 points 9 rebounds 3 assists 8-8 FT

Stat Leaders:

Points – Emma Yost (22)

Assists – Mya Wilson & Emma Yost (3)

Rebounds – Emma Yost (9)

Blocks – Isabel Ihnen (1)

Steals – Shalayne Nagel (1)

Recap –

Both teams struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the first quarter with DWU slightly edging out the Warriors 10-9 to take the quarter. The score would make it look like a defensive battle, but the Tigers had great looks around the rim that they couldn't convert on and committed a handful of unforced turnovers resulting in the low scoring quarter. On the defensive side of the ball for DWU, the low point total given up isn't foreign ground as the Tigers pressured the Warriors with a press and continued that tight physical defense in the half court. Emma Yost led in the quarter with her four points (2 in the paint and 2 at the line). DWU forced five total turnovers in the quarter but only turned one of the five into points.

The offense started to find it's stride early in the second when Rylee Rosenquist grabbed a physical offensive rebound and put it back for two followed by a wide open three-pointer from Morgan Edelman a possession later to give DWU their biggest lead at 15-11. The cover was put back on the rims as both teams went scoreless in the next three minutes of action. The Warriors broke the scoreless streak with a layup to cut the lead to two, but Rosenquist answered with a layup of her own off a great feed from Mya Wilson to push it back to four. Dakota Wesleyan would go scoreless for the next two minutes of action, but their defense kept them in it during the stretch. Free throws from Lacey Sprakel and transition three by Grace Fryda gave the Tigers their biggest lead at 22-15. The Tigers kept that seven-point lead to close out the first half for a 29-22 halftime score. Yost led with nine points in the half.

Third quarter the Warriors came out hot and found their groove on both ends of the floor. The Warriors facing a seven-point deficit at half erased that and grabbed just their second lead of the game at 34-32 with six minutes left in the quarter. DWU clawed their way back with an 11-5 run in the closing five minutes to retake the lead at 43-39. In the fourth quarter the Tigers saw their lead jump to double digits for the first time all game with two deep range shots from Isabel Ihnen. After a pair of free throws from Rosenquist DWU held a 12-point lead with just under two minutes left. On the ensuing Warriors possession, they got a corner three to fall which was followed by a quick timeout from the Midland bench to go over the defensive/full court press strategy facing a nine-point deficit with 1:30 left in the game. Dakota Wesleyan broke the Midland press with ease and got a wide-open layup from Shalayne Nagel in transition who seconds later got a steal leading to another bucket to put the game on ice. DWU walked out of Fremont with a 63-52.

Head-to-Head (Midland)