CRETE, Neb. – After fending off a comeback in the second half, the No. 2 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team pulled away from Doane University 71-54 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference victory Saturday at the Haddix Center in Crete, Neb.
Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) got the scoring started with a 3-point basket to put DWU up early. After Doane tied the game with a layup and a free throw, DWU (12-0, 8-0 GPAC) went on a 13-0 run to hold a 16-3 lead, forcing a Doane timeout.
With under a minute to play in the first quarter, Sydney Halling (Harrisburg, S.D.) made a layup to give the Tigers a 22-11 lead.
Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) drove past her defender a made a layup to begin the second-quarter scoring for DWU. With just under five minutes to play in the first half, Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) found space and drained a jump shot to extend the DWU lead to 17 points.
The Tigers connected on five free throws down the stretch to take a 40-25 lead at the halftime break.
Doane (2-11, 0-8 GPAC) came out in the second half and began to chip away at the DWU lead. The 15-point lead was quickly erased to an eight-point margin following a 10-3 run by Doane.
However, DWU was able to string together a few baskets near the end of the third quarter as the Tigers led 54-42 heading to the final quarter.
DWU held a 10-point lead over Doane throughout most of the fourth quarter until Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) drove to the basket and made a layup to begin a Tiger run. DWU went on to extend the lead to 17 points down the stretch, on their way to victory.
Carr led the Tigers with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Osthus tallied 14 points and five assists. Halling added 11 points and five rebounds, as Cheeseman chipped in 10 points. DWU shot 42.3 percent from the field and forced 13 turnovers, while finishing with 28 points in the paint.
The Tigers return home to take on Dakota State University at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Corn Palace.