Orange City, Iowa – Surrendering its four-game winning streak, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team suffered a 66-46 defeat to conference foe Northwestern College in Great Plains Athletic Conference play on Wednesday from the Bultman Center in Orange City, Iowa.
Sophomore Matti Reiner (Tripp, S.D.) sparked Dakota Wesleyan to a 7-3 advantage early in the first quarter. Reiner converted a 3-pointer at the top of the key off a pass from Haidyn Pitsch (Prior Lake, Minn.) to open the game. Minutes later, a steal by Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) produced a layup in transition by Pitsch, who finished at the basket off the assist from Rynn Osthus (De Smet, S.D.).
The opening period remained close as both teams were unable to mount a sizable lead. A jumper by Osthus pushed the Tiger (9-6, 7-6 GPAC) advantage to four, 12-8 at the 2:34 mark. However, the Raiders finished on a 6-2 run to finish the first stanza and the score persisted at 14-14.
A second 3-pointer by Reiner off the assist from Jada Campbell (Alexandria, S.D.) broke a tie early in the second quarter as DWU regained the lead, 19-16. Neither team scored over the next three minutes before a pair of free throws by Campbell extended the Dakota Wesleyan advantage to 21-16 near the midway point in the quarter.
Though, a scoring spurt by the Raiders (8-8, 8-5 GPAC) cut the Tiger lead to a single point, 23-22 late in the second frame. DWU responded as Reiner connected with Natalie Gottlob (Salem, S.D.) down low, who converted underneath to bring the score to 27-22. Moments, later a steal and layup in transition by Isabel Ihnen (Lennox, S.D.) gave Dakota Wesleyan a 30-27 halftime lead.
Kirk assisted Osthus on another 3-pointer for the Blue and Gray, 1-of-5 made 3-pointers in the game for the Tigers, to guide DWU to a 33-30 advantage early in the third period. Gottlob converted another basket to push the lead to 35-31 at the 7:48 mark, though, Northwestern responded on a 16-3 run to close out the stanza and DWU trailed 47-38 with one quarter left.
The Tigers were outscored 19-8 in the final quarter as Northwestern built a commanding lead. Sydnaya Dunn (Sioux Falls, S.D.) finished underneath, along with multiple baskets by Reiner, in an attempt to cut into the Northwestern advantage. However, the Raiders cruised to the 64-44 victory and halted the Tiger's four-game winning streak.
Reiner paced DWU in scoring as she finished with a team-high 16 points, her fourth-straight game with 15 or more points. Osthus also reached double figures with 11 points to go along with six rebounds. Dakota Wesleyan collected 38 rebounds and eight assists.
The Tigers return to action versus Mount Marty University at 2 p.m. on Sunday from the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.