February 29, 2024

(RV) TIGERS GPAC SEMIFINALS PREVIEW AT NO. 2 DEFENDERS

Mitchell, S.D. – The Tigers earned the 80-68 road win in the GPAC Quarterfinals against No. 4 seed Northwestern College. The Tigers dominated the Red Raiders from start to finish by opening the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back. DWU never trailed in the game and won or tied every quarter with the Raiders. Rylee Rosenquist was the star in the game, despite battling an injury that will require surgery in the offseason, the sophomore guard went for a team high 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Emma Yost, Morgan Edelman, and Mya Wilson were also all in double-figures for the Tigers. Dakota Wesleyan is now set to face off against regular season champion and No. 2 ranked Dordt in Sioux Center Saturday, March 2^nd with tipoff at 3 p.m.

2023-24 INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS:

The Tigers had a lot of highlights and standouts during their 2023-24 season from both veteran and newcomers. Freshman forward, Emma Yost led the Tigers all year with her 15.1 points per contest and was the only Tiger in double figure points to end the season. Yost recorded six games with 20+ points which included a season-high 28 in the 83-59 win against Mount Marty. The freshman forward had double-digit points in all but two games this season as well, cementing her offensive dominance. Yost finished second on the team in rebounds (5.9) and assists (2.3) per game and recorded three double-doubles on the season.

Her freshman counterpart Shalayne Nagel also had a strong freshman season, just missing out on averaging double-digit points a game at 9.8. It was her defense that was most valuable as the 6-0 freshman guard averaged 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest. The 1.3 blocks currently ranks third in the conference and the 1.7 is top-20. Nagel recorded her first 20+ point game of the season with her 23 against (RV) Briar Cliff. On the defensive side, Shalayne rejected a season-high five shots in the Tigers 17-point victory over No. 13 Dakota State in front of a packed home crowd.

The main veteran that has carried the team in every stat category this season has been Morgan Edelman. The last season GPAC Honorable Mention leads the team in rebounding with her 7.9 rebounds a game which ranks third in the conference and has recorded six double-doubles on the season, four in the last six games. Edelman has grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds three different times this season and had at least 10 rebounds in 10 games. Edelman in the first half of the season mainly contributed to the team on defense, passing, and on the boards, but when senior Isabel Ihnen went down with an injury the junior guard stepped up and has averaged 12.3 points per game in her absence. Edelman currently averages 9.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

Other Tigers that have stepped up in the absence of Ihnen, who was averaging 9.9 points per game before the injury, has been Taliyah Hayes who is averaging 9.1 and has recorded two 20+ point games during that span and Rylee Rosenquist who has been dealing with a nagging injury all season with her 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is coming off a career-high 26 points against No. 1 Dordt at home and carried DWU in the 80-68 quarterfinals win over NWC with her 21 points.

COACHES TALK:

We got to sit down with Head Coach, Jason Christensen and talk about the matchup coming up and the big road win against Northwestern in the quarterfinals. When asked about the positive and negative takeaways from the 12-point victory over the Red Raiders, Christensen had this to say, "That was the most aggressive and ready to play our team has been for a game all year, we were attacking the rim early and often and played with a ton of confidence which is all you can ask for out of a for the most part very young team that doesn't have much experience in road GPAC playoff games." The Tigers will now shift their focus on No. 2 ranked Dordt who they dropped both games too in the regular season. "Dordt is a great team and had a great season, as with Northwestern, going on the road in the GPAC is a tough task and especially in that gym and atmosphere. We will really need to stress taking care of the ball and limiting our turnovers as Dordt is about as good as it gets at forcing turnovers and turning them into points." Christensen added, "we will need to be at our best when it comes to physicality and crashing the offensive boards and winning the 50/50 balls. With a team like this, mistakes are going to happen on our end, but it will be about not letting one bad possession turn into two straight and the domino effect starts and next thing you know you are down 15." This will be the second straight season the Tigers matchup with the Defenders in the semifinals with last years game coming down to the wire in a 75-74 overtime loss. "We will be ready to go and are excited for the challenge, we know if we play our brand of ball and like Northwestern get off the bus ready to play from the first whistle, that anything can happen in the GPAC."

HEAD-TO-HEAD:

Game 1 – January 17 | Sioux Center, Iowa

Dakota Wesleyan 46 | No. 1 Dordt 89

Dakota Wesleyan fell to the No. 1 Dordt Defenders 89-46. The 46 points is the fewest points the Tigers were held to all season with the next being their 47 against the University of Nebraska. Emma Yost and Anna Campbell were the bright spots for the Tigers, both scoring double figures with Yost netting 14 and Campbell pouring in 10. DWU was held to just 26% shooting from the floor while the Defenders shot a blazing 65%.

Game 2 – February 21 | Mitchell, S.D.

(RV) Dakota Wesleyan 75 | No. 1 Dordt 85

Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball team fell at home 85-75 to the No. 1 Dordt Defenders in their regular season home finale. The Tigers fell in a big 58-37 hole in the first half, but came out clawing in the second half, outscoring the Defenders 38-27 and holding them to 15 points or under in every quarter. In the first half Dordt was firing on all cylinders on offense scoring 29 points in each quarter. On the DWU side of the court the Tigers were led by Rylee Rosenquist who had a career high 26 points to go with three rebounds and assists. Maleighya Estes provided big minutes off the bench as well with her career high 10 points. Morgan Edelman recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists.

WHO TO WATCH FOR THE DEFENDERS:

The Defenders spent most of the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country but in the last poll fell to the No. 2 spot when they dropped their season finale at Northwestern 81-63. Dordt finished the regular season with a 27-2 overall record and 21-1 in conference. Their only other loss came against South Dakota State University when they lost in Brookings 66-54. The Defenders lead the conference with their 84.3 points, 45.3 rebounds, and 18.5 assists per game.

The Defenders attack you offensively by committee. They have five players that are averaging 10.0 or more points per contest on the season. The leading scorer is Grace Schoonhoven who is averaging 12.6 per contest but is closely followed by Bailey Beckman with 12.1. Karly Gustafson and Macy Sievers are both averaging 11.7 while Janie Schoonhoven rounds out the double-digit scorers with her 10.3. On the boards Janie Schoonhoven leads with 8.6 per contest and followed by Gustafson with 7.2. Head-to-head Sievers leads the way against the Tigers averaging 16.5 points in the two games and is followed by Gracie Schoonhoven with 16.0. Gustafson in the two games averaged 11.0 points and 9.0 rebounds.

TIGERS HISTORY IN GPAC TOURNAMENT:

The Tigers have now qualified for the GPAC tournament four years in a row. DWU during that span they have a 5-3 record. DWU opened this GPAC tournament with a 80-68 Quarterfinals road win against Northwestern. Last season the Tigers beat Northwestern 69-62 in the Quarterfinals at home before losing on the road 74-75 in OT to Dordt. During the 2021-22 season the Tigers won the GPAC Tournament with wins against Concordia (68-52), Dordt (69-59), and Morningside in the championship 83-60.

GAME INFORMATION:

LIVE STATS LINK

VIDEO LINK

Adults will be charged $10, K-College students will be charged $3, and children under the kindergarten age will have no charge. All GPAC students will receive free admission to the game with the showing of their institutional ID. All faculty and staff at GPAC schools will be required to pay for entry, per the conference office.

*Only NAIA passes will be accepted at the gate, no institutional passes will be accepted for the entirety of the conference tournament. *