YANKTON, S.D. – It was a career night from senior Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) as she reached 2,000 career points and tallied a career-high 35 points on the night. The No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team cruised past in-state rival Mount Marty College, 74-66 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Wednesday in Yankton, S.D.
The Tigers (19-8, 12-7 GPAC) took an early five-point lead following a basket by Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) and a 3-pointer by Jessica Mieras (Sioux Falls, S.D.).
After the Lancers (13-13, 7-12 GPAC) pulled within a point moments later, Cheeseman began to find her way to the basket. She scored on two-straight possessions, followed by a 3-pointer midway through the opening quarter.
Following a made free throw with two minutes to play in the first period, Cheeseman tallied her 2000th-career point as she gave DWU a 17-8 lead. However, MMC finished the quarter on a 5-2 spurt to pull within six points after one quarter.
The Lancers continued their run into the second stanza as they tied the game at 19 to cap off an 11-2 run. Mieras put an end to the run with a pair of free throws, giving the lead back to DWU.
Carr notched a layup, followed by a 3-pointer on the next possession to extend the Tiger lead to five points with just under five minutes to play in the half.
After Cheeseman scored four-consecutive points to hand DWU a four-point advantage, the Lancers concluded the half on a 9-4 run to take a 37-36 lead into halftime.
Kamryn Heinz (Ipswich, S.D.) kicked off the second half with a 3-pointer to return the lead to the Tigers. Both teams traded baskets for the opening minutes of the half, until Makaela Karst (Plankinton, S.D.) nailed a shot from beyond the arc with seven minutes to play in the quarter.
Minutes later, Rynn Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) connected on a jump shot, while Karst made a jumper of her own to push the Tiger advantage to seven points.
The Lancers made a 3-pointer of their own with 2:24 left in the quarter. However, this was the last points scored in the period as DWU took a 56-51 lead into the final frame.
Sophomore Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) began the final stanza with a basket. With under five minutes to play, Cheeseman utilized her screen as she turned the corner for an easy layup to give DWU an eight-point lead.
The Tigers held on thanks to free throws down the stretch to secure the road victory.
Cheeseman finished the night with 35 points and seven rebounds, as Karst fell just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. DWU shot 40% from the field and held MMC to 36% from the field.
The Tigers stay on the road to battle Doane University at 2 p.m. Saturday in Crete, Neb.
