SIOUX CITY, Iowa. – In a top-10 battle, the No. 4 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team defeated No. 8 Morningside College 82-76 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Sioux City, Iowa.
Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) wasted no time offensively for the Tigers (21-3, 14-3 GPAC) as she drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give DWU the early lead. Both teams got off to a fast start early in the first quarter.
After the Mustangs (17-7, 9-7 GPAC) tied the score at 12, Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) delivered a 3-pointer to give DWU a 15-12 lead. Moments later, Sydney Halling (Harrisburg, S.D.) notched a layup followed by a Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) 3-pointer with an assist from Carr to put the Tigers in front by three at the end of the first quarter.
Morningside hit back-to-back 3-pointers out the gate in the second quarter, but DWU answered back with a Halling layup to spark a 7-0 run and the Tigers were back in front 33-27. Later in the second quarter, Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) converted on a layup with an assist from Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) to push the Tiger lead to seven.
With 13 seconds left in the second quarter, Carr notched two free throws and DWU headed to the locker room with a 41-32 lead.
Both teams traded baskets early in the third quarter as Carr scored on back-to-back possessions for the Tigers. Later in the third quarter, Cheeseman connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give DWU their biggest lead of the game 57-42.
Morningside would not go away as the Mustangs closed out the third quarter on an 8-2 run to cut the Tiger lead to 59-50 at the end of the third quarter.
Cheeseman tallied a jump shot early in the fourth quarter to put DWU back in front by nine. After Morningside cut into the Tiger lead at 61-55 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Tigers got back-to-back scoring possessions from Osthus and Carr to push the lead to 65-55.
DWU held a 71-55 lead with five minutes left to go in the game, as the Mustangs made another late run at the Tigers. DWU was able to hold on after going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line to secure the road victory 82-76.
The Tigers were led by Cheeseman and Carr who each tallied 24 points for DWU. Karst added 12 points off the bench, while Osthus finished with 10 points and seven assists. The Tigers finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.
DWU will hit the road to battle GPAC opponent University of Jamestown at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Jamestown, N.D.