Dakota Wesleyan’s late surge falls short versus No. 9 Mustangs

MITCHELL, S.D. – Despite a late surge in the fourth quarter, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team suffered a 73-68 defeat to conference foe No. 9 Morningside College in Great Plains Athletic Conference play on Wednesday from the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.

 Early buckets by Matti Reiner (Tripp, S.D.) and Jada Campbell (Alexandria, S.D.) sparked Dakota Wesleyan early, however, Morningside College raced out to a 28-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 The Tigers (13-7, 11-7 GPAC) kept the score close midway through the opening quarter as Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) converted a layup to bring DWU within two points, 11-9. Moments later, Natalie Gottlob (Salem, S.D.) finished under the basket off an offensive rebound to keep the margin at two. Though, the Mustangs (20-2, 18-1 GPAC) ended the first frame with 15-unanswered points and controlled a double-digit lead.

 Throughout the second quarter, Dakota Wesleyan began to claw its way into the Morningside advantage. A layup by Kirk, who finished with 10 points and six assists in the game, trimmed the score to 30-15 midway through the second frame. Moments later, Campbell scored near the basket off another DWU offensive rebound as the 6-foot-4 junior posted 10 rebounds and eight points in the first half.

 After a timeout by the Mustangs at the 3:31 mark in the second quarter, the score remained even for the rest of the half as Morningside outscored the Tigers 10-8 down the stretch. A 3-pointer by Haidyn Pitsch (Prior Lake, Minn.) off the assist from Kirk followed by a jumper by Reiner off the pass from Rynn Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) provided Dakota Wesleyan with momentum. Though, Morningside controlled a 43-27 advantage at halftime.

 Both teams exchanged baskets to start the second half and Morningside led 47-31 at the 5:56 mark in the third quarter. An offensive rebound and proceeding layup by Gottlob along with a jumper by Reiner trimmed the Mustang advantage to 51-40 with 4:09 left in the quarter.

 With under a minute left to play in the third stanza, Campbell converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to pull the Tigers within ten points at 54-44. DWU cut the margin to single digits after a make at the charity stripe by Gottlob and Dakota Wesleyan trailed 54-45 with one quarter to play.

 In the final period, Morningside pushed its advantage back to double digits, 63-53 with 6:34 remaining, but not before a basket by Isabel Ihnen (Lennox, S.D.) off the assist from Kirk. Minutes later, back-to-back 3-pointers by Pitsch brought the Blue and Gray to with six points, 69-63 at the 3:41 mark.

 Under a minute to play and still down by six, a block and 3-pointer by Reiner guided Dakota Wesleyan to within three points, 71-68. Though, the Tigers were unable to complete the comeback and the Mustangs held on for the 73-68 road victory.

 Campbell recorded a game-high 19 points and a season-high 18 rebounds to pace the Blue and Gray. Reiner, who finished 7-of-13 from the field, tallied 18 points and seven rebounds while Pitsch collected 13 points including four made 3-pointers. The Tigers shot 44.3% from the field and tallied 16 offensive rebounds.

 Dakota Wesleyan returns to action versus No. 25 Concordia University at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Seward, Neb.