Tigers pound Warriors in conference action

FREMONT, Neb. - The No. 12 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team traveled to Fremont, Neb., for a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup with the Midland University Warriors, as DWU cruised to an 80-62 victory on Sunday.

 The Tigers (14-6, 7-5 GPAC) started strong in the first quarter and carried that momentum throughout the game as Jessica Mieras (Sioux Falls, S.D.) opened the scoring with a two-point basket.

 Three minutes into the game, Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) nailed a 3-point shot to give DWU an 11-8 lead. Midway through the quarter, Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) converted on another 3-pointer for the Tigers to extend their lead to 15-10.

 DWU went on a 17-1 run to end the first quarter thanks to stout defense and sharp shooting from beyond the arc, to push their lead to 27-11 at the end of one frame.

 The Warriors (7-14, 3-10 GPAC) began the second quarter by scoring four-straight points, before Kamryn Heinz (Ipswich, S.D.) made a layup to push the Tiger lead to 14 points with six minutes left in the first half.

 Minutes later, Cheeseman converted on another 3-point shot to give the Tigers a 16-point advantage. The Warriors cut their deficit to 38-27 with 30 seconds left to play in the half. But, Mieras made another layup with just one second to play in the half to extend their lead to 40-27 to end the half.

 Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) opened the scoring for the Tigers in the second half with a 3-point basket, followed by a Cheeseman layup to extend their lead to 45-29, just one minute into the second half.

 Midland responded with nine straight points, with six minutes left in the third frame. Minutes later, Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) extended the Tiger lead to 56-40. The Warriors answered with a 10-2 run in the final three minutes of the third period to cut their deficit to eight points.

 The Tigers started the fourth quarter with a Carr layup, followed by a Kirk layup. Midland cut their deficit to eight points with six minutes left to go in the game. However, this is as close as they would get as DWU pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Midland 22-12.

 DWU shot 57.4% from the field, as well as 42.1% from beyond the arc. The Tigers held Midland to just 34% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. Carr led all scorers with 23 points and five rebounds, as Cheeseman chipped in 20 points and six rebounds. Karst added 10 points and five rebounds.

 DWU welcomes No. 2 Hastings College for a GPAC matchup at 6 p.m., Wednesday at the Corn Palace.