MITCHELL, S.D. – With two minutes remaining until halftime, the No. 8 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team found their rhythm on both ends of the court as they finished the half on an 11-1 run capped by a Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) 3-pointer. The DWU women's basketball team were able to fend off Great Plains Athletic Conference foe Midland University in the second half as they routed the Warriors, 75-55 Sunday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
Neither team could pull away from each other in the first quarter until Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.) nailed a 3-pointer to put the Tigers (16-4, 8-3 GPAC) up 19-15 after the first stanza.
The Warriors (9-12, 4-7 GPAC) took a three-point lead after a pair of free throws early in the second quarter. But the Tigers responded with a 23-7 to end the half as they took a 45-32 lead at the break.
DWU took a 51-36 lead following a Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) jump shot midway through the third quarter and took a 60-41 lead at the end of the quarter.
Junior guard Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) got the scoring going in the final quarter as she scored the first three points for the Tigers. They were able to keep the scoring going as they took a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter on their way to the victory.
Jessica Mieras (Sioux Falls, S.D.) led the team with 20 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting from the field in 14 minutes of action, while Cheeseman added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench. Carr scored 10 points and Oshtus tallied nine points and five assists for DWU.
The Tigers shot 48 percent from the field and grabbed 35 rebounds in the game.
DWU hits the road for non-conference action as they take on Division I opponent South Dakota State University at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D.
