MITCHELL, S.D. – For the first 20 minutes, College of Saint Mary star Deaundra Young was quiet, but the 6-foot-2 center woke up in the second half and led the Flames past No. 5 Dakota Wesleyan University Friday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.
Young brought the Flames back from a seven-point deficit at the half to top the Tigers 74-72. The loss ends a 10-game winning streak for DWU, while dropping the Tigers to 14-2 overall and 8-2 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. After opening the GPAC season 0-7, the Flames have won their last three games.
The Tigers were unable to get going on offense, shooting just 39 percent from the field. The Tigers were able to build a lead and stay in the game with the long ball, hitting 11 attempts from behind the 3-point line.
Down five with just over a minute to play, junior forward Erica Herrold (Dimock, S.D.) hit a 3-pointer to pull the Tigers within a bucket. After getting a defensive stop, DWU got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead with the final shot. The attempt from freshman guard Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) missed the mark and Young grabbed one more rebound.
Six Tigers finished in double-figuresg, but none above the 13 points posted by freshman guard Hope Menning (Corsica, S.D.). Menning shot 5-of-9 from the field, with three 3-pointers off the bench.
Sophomore Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.), junior forward Kristin Sabers (Mitchell, S.D.) and Herrold each finished with 11 points, while junior Gabby Frykbo (Sodertalje, Sweden) and sophomore Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.) both added 10. Osthus scored all six of her points in the first quarter, while adding eight assists and five rebounds.
The Tigers shot 25-of-64 from the field, 11-of-29 from deep and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Young finished with 26 points on 12-of-24 shooting, while grabbing 19 rebounds for the double-double. She added seven assists and four blocks in the CSM win. Most of Young's damage happened in the second half as she sat for eight minutes before halftime with foul trouble. Justice Ross added 20 points, including four 3-pointers for the Flames.
CSM shot 29-of-63 from the field, 7-of-17 from behind the arc and 9-of-10 from the line. Young led the Flames to a win in the rebounding battle 35-29.
DWU looks to rebound against instate rival Dakota State University in a nonconference matchup at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Corn Palace.