DWU set for road matchup at No. 25 Concordia

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team faces No. 25 Concordia University in Great Plains Athletic Conference play at 4 p.m. tomorrow in Seward, Neb.

 The Tigers are looking to get back on track after falling just short versus conference rival No. 9 Morningside College 73-68 on Wednesday from the Corn Palace. Dakota Wesleyan outrebounded the Mustangs 40-27 and shot 44.3% from the field.

 Jada Campbell (Alexandria, S.D.) finished with her second straight double-double as she finished with a game-high 19 points along with a season-high 18 rebounds. Campbell leads DWU with four double-doubles on the season and is fourth in the conference in total rebounds with 164. Defensively, the junior center is second in the conference and 15th nationally in total blocks with 35.

 Fellow junior Kaylee Kirk (Balaton, Minn.) continues to direct the Dakota Wesleyan offense as she ranks fourth in the country in total assists with 108. Kirk is averaging 5.4 assists per game to just 2.8 turnovers per outing and is fifth on the conference leaderboards in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.93. The Balaton, Minn., native also leads DWU in steals averaging 2.8 steals per contest and ranks ninth nationally in total steals with 55.

 Haidyn Pitsch (Prior Lake, Minn.) continues to spark the Tigers offensively as well, specifically from behind the 3-point line. After finishing 4-of-8 from beyond the arch on Wednesday, Pitsch has converted four or more 3-pointers in a total of three games this season. The 5-foot-5 freshman guard is leading Dakota Wesleyan in scoring averaging 14.5 points per outing and leads the Blue and Gray in 3-pointers made with 45.

 As a team, Dakota Wesleyan cracks the top-10 nationally in both total blocks and total assists with 83 and 341, respectively.

The Coaches

 Jason Christensen (Dakota Wesleyan University '98) is in his 11th season with the DWU women's basketball squad and has guided Dakota Wesleyan to six 20-win seasons in his career.

 Drew Olson is in his 13th season as the Concordia women's head basketball coach and is the program's all-time winningest coach.

The Series

 The Bulldogs have controlled the all-time series between the two schools as CUNE holds a 35-14 advantage. However, in the first matchup of the season, Dakota Wesleyan defeated Concordia 85-80 from the Corn Palace.

Scouting the Concordia Bulldogs

 CUNE boasts a 15-7 record overall and checks in at No. 25 in the latest NAIA national rankings. The Bulldogs are paced by their efficient offense which ranks top-10 nationally in both 3-pointers made and total assists. Concordia has converted 224 3-pointers and dished out 340 assists on the season.

 Taylor Cockerill fuels the offense. Cockerill leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 14.8 points per contest and is shooting 40.1% from the field on the season. The 5-foot-9 guard tallied a season-high 33 points versus both the Tigers and Dakota State University earlier this year.

 For fans not able to attend the game, you can stream the game online with stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cun/ . You can also listen to Tim Smith and Bob Sprang with the call at 105.9 FM or online at kmit.com.