December 9, 2023

TIGERS MAKE IT 16 STRAIGHT AGAINST LANCERS BEHIND HAYES CAREER-HIGH 18 IN 76-50 WIN

Mount Marty

3-8, 1-6

Dakota Wesleyan

6-3, 5-2

Final

Mount Marty 3-8, 1-6

Dakota Wesleyan 6-3, 5-2

Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball team picked up the 76-50 win over Mount Marty. DWU dominated on both ends of the floor from start to finish and never trailed in the game while holding the Lancers to just 17 points in the first half. Taliyah Hayes had a career-high 18 points in the contest off the bench to lead the Tigers. She was followed by Morgan Edelman and Emma Yost with 11 points each. DWU forced a staggering 23 turnovers which they turned into 21 points and was attacking the Lancers defense all game earning 33 trips to the free throw line, converting 24 of those attempts.

Highlighted Player– Taliyah Hayes 18 points 2 rebounds 2 blocks 7-7 FT

Stat Leaders:

Points – Taliyah Hayes (18)

Assists – Isabel Ihnen (3)

Rebounds – Morgan Edelman (8)

Blocks – Three players (2)

Steals – Morgan Edelman (3)

Recap –

DWU dominated the first quarter by a wide margin of 21-9. In the quarter the Tigers forced nine turnovers and turned them into seven points. Throughout the quarter Dakota Wesleyan had a full court press on that the Lancers struggled to break and couldn't take care of the ball with the suffocating pressure. It was a chippy quarter that saw both teams combining for 17 fouls (10 MMU & 7 DWU) which resulted in 24 free throw attempts between the two teams. DWU went 13-15 from the line while the Lancers just managed to go 5-9. Both squads couldn't get anything to go from deep going 0-12 combined from beyond the arc. Taliyah Hayes provided quality minutes off the bench attacking the MMU defense, earning herself six strips to the line, which she converted all six attempts. Morgan Edelman and Hayes led the way in the quarter with six points apiece followed by Emma Yost and Shalayne Nagel in her first start with four each.

The second quarter was a replay from the first with the Tigers winning the quarter 22-8. Again, the full court press shut down any kind of offense the Lancers tried to set up, finishing the half with 15 turnovers which DWU turned into 12 points. The Tigers kept it clean in the first half with five turnovers, which none resulted in Mount Marty points. The fouls calmed down in the second quarter as DWU only took five trips to the line, converting four of the five attempts. The cover stayed on the rim for the second quarter on all three-point attempts with both teams combining for a 0-21 in the first half. Hayes paced all scorers with a career-high 11 points in the half followed by Edelman with 10 points.

Mount Marty came out of the locker room and was able to break through the Tigers press more and set up their offense which led to 17 points in the quarter alone after managing just 17 in the first half. The Tigers still slightly edged the Lancers in the quarter 18-17. After not recording a three-point field goal in the first Grace Fryda found the bottom of the net halfway through the third to record the first made three-pointer of the game. Dakota Wesleyan struggled on offense to get their shots to fall finishing the first three quarters with just a 38% field goal percentage. DWU went deep into the bench for most of the fourth quarter with the Tigers holding such a large lead. This led to Maleighya Estes recording five points during her eight minutes of play. Mount Marty won the quarter 16-15, but it wasn't enough to make up the large gap in the first half for a 76-50 final. DWU had three players with 2+ steals and blocks in the contest while also winning the rebounding battle 44-38.

Head-to-Head (Mount Marty)