SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team gave No. 2 Morningside College all it could handle, as the No. 16 Tigers made a furious rally in the third quarter to nearly stun the Mustangs in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Wednesday in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Tigers trailed by 13 as the third quarter clock dwindled, but DWU went on a 17-2 run to take its first lead of the game early in the fourth. The Mustangs went on their own 10-0 run and held off a late push by DWU to gain the 80-74 win.
The loss drops DWU to 19-7 overall and 12-7 in the GPAC. The Tigers are locked in a five-way tie for second place in the league with No. 10 Briar Cliff University, No. 11 Hastings College, No. 14 Concordia University and No. 24 Mount Marty College, which all won Wednesday. The win gave Morningside the GPAC regular season title for the fourth straight season.
After falling to the Mustangs by 38 points earlier this season at the Corn Palace, DWU showed it can play with the best teams in the GPAC, as the Tigers traded shots with Morningside throughout the first half. The Mustangs led 41-36 at the break and seemed to be pulling away early in the third quarter, building a 13-point advantage.
Down 52-39 in the third, DWU scored 17 of the next 19 points to take a two-point lead early in the fourth. Morningside's Lexi Ackerman got rolling, scoring 12 points in the final frame to help secure the win for the Mustangs.
Four Tigers finished in double figures, led by junior forward Erica Herrold (Dimock, S.D.) with 20 points, including 18 in the second half and a pair of 3-pointers. Sophomore forward Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.) continued her strong play of late, narrowly missing a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman point guard Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) handled the relentless Morningside press all night, finishing with just one turnover. Osthus scored 14 points, while adding five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.) scored all 10 of her points in the first half and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Tigers shot 26-of-64 from the field, 6-of-24 from deep and a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line. DWU won the rebounding 38-37, finishing with 15 assists and 14 turnovers.
Jessica Tietz was the show for Morningside, scoring 32 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while making 12-of-19 free throws. Ackerman scored 22 points, including three 3-pointers. The Mustangs shot 28-of-60 from the field, 5-of-17 from behind the 3-point line and 19-of-26 from the free-throw line.
DWU plays its final nonconference game of the regular season against Grace University at 6 p.m. Friday in Omaha, Neb.