MITCHELL, S.D. – Needing a win to keep pace in the Great Plains Athletic Conference race, the No. 8 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team clinched a key victory over Mount Marty College, 73-51 Wednesday night at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
Already leading 27-20, the Tigers (20-4, 11-4 GPAC) opened the second quarter with five consecutive 3-pointers. Kristin Sabers (Mitchell, S.D.) ended the half with six of the Tigers' final seven points to take a 49-35 lead at halftime.
DWU started the game similarly with a 3-pointer by Sabers followed by a 3-pointer by Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.), to give Bray her 1,000th-career point. Shots from beyond the arc were easy to come by in the first half for the Tigers as they made 11 shots from 3-point land in the first 20 minutes.
Down by 14 to start the second half, the Lancers (11-14, 5-10 GPAC) needed to find some hot shooting. However, they netted eight points in the third stanza as they Tigers kept widening their lead. DWU held the Lancers without a field goal for four minutes and 11 seconds while the Tigers scored nine points during the same span to take a 67-39 lead.
The Tigers continued their strong defense into the fourth quarter as they only allowed eight points. DWU currently sits third in the GPAC women's basketball standings following their 20th win of the season.
After scoring her 1,000th point, Ashley Bray finished the night with five points. Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) led all scorers with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Sabers finished with 14 points and Erica Herrold (Dimock, S.D.) added 13 points and five rebounds to round out the starters for DWU. Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.) came off the bench and tallied 11 points. The Tigers shot 43.6 percent from the field, 12-of-30 from 3-point range and 81.3 percent from the free-throw line in the contest.
DWU hits the road for their next GPAC battle as they play Midland University at 2 p.m. Saturday in Fremont, Neb.
