OMAHA, Neb. – The Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team made a statement with a win over College of Saint Mary, showing the rest of the Great Plains Athletic Conference that the Tigers are every bit a threat as the four teams they came into the day tied with for second place.
DWU took revenge for a loss earlier this season at the Corn Palace by shooting the lights out from behind the 3-point line in an 81-68 win over the Flames Saturday in Omaha, Neb. The win keeps DWU, now 21-7 overall and 13-7 in the GPAC, tied for second place in the league with No. 10 Briar Cliff University, No. 14 Concordia University and No. 24 Mount Marty College.
The Tigers close out the season with two games at home this week, starting with Northwestern College on Wednesday, while the regular season ends with a meeting against No. 11 Hastings College Saturday. DWU's win over CSM gives the Tigers 21 for the first time since 2003-04 and makes Jason Christensen the second head coach to reach the win total in school history.
DWU led by 10 points at the half as the Tigers hit several big shots from deep, led by the resurgence of junior forward Kristin Sabers (Mitchell, S.D.), who came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers before the break. The Tigers continued to build their lead in the third quarter, but CSM rallied behind the strong play of NAIA Player-of-the-Week Deaundra Young. The 6-foot-2 center scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, with most of her damage coming in the second half.
The DWU defense tightened, forcing 25 Flame turnovers in the game, leading to several crucial Tiger points down the stretch. DWU struggled at the free-throw line most of the game, but made enough shots in the closing minutes to close out the win.
The Tigers were led by sophomore forward Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.) who was left open from deep all game. After coming into the game with seven made 3-pointers on the season, Bray hit 4-of-5 to lift the Tigers with a game-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds.
Sophomore forward Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.) and junior forward Erica Herrold (Dimock, S.D.) each added 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Herrold added four steals. Sabers finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while freshman point guard Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) had a team-high six assists.
The Tigers shot just under 50 percent, making 25-of-51 from the field, 12-of-27 from deep and 19-of-30 from the line.
Young led the Flames with 20 points, while Justice Ross added 13 points and five rebounds. CSM shot 19-of-45 from the field, 4-of-12 from 3-point range and 26-of-32 from the free-throw line. The Flames won the rebounding battle 30-28.
DWU heads home to take on Northwestern at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.