MITCHELL, S.D. – The (RV) Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball program, who concluded a three-game homestand, defeated conference rival No. 16 Northwestern College, 63-51, in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action on Wednesday night from the Corn Palace. A trio of Dakota Wesleyan players reached double figures as DWU completed the season sweep of Northwestern thanks to a pair of double-digit victories.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Out of the gate, Northwestern constructed a 6-1 lead midway through the opening quarter before a jump shot in the paint by Jada Campbell. Campbell, who registered 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, finished off a dish from Matti Reiner who led the Tigers (21-6, 13-6 GPAC) with seven assists, and the Blue and Gray attempted to cut into the early deficit.
The Raiders (21-6, 13-6 GPAC) used a pair of free throws late in the frame along with a layup to push their advantage to nine points, 12-3. Reiner, who scored eight points along with six rebounds, and Lacey Sprakel responded with a pair of baskets to close out the first period while NWC held the 12-7 edge.
Despite a bucket to start the second quarter from Isabel Ihnen who tallied 14 points, Northwestern extended the benefit to eight points at the 6:48 mark, 19-11. The Raiders, who shot 21-of-50 (42%) from the floor, knocked down a made field goal along with a monstrous 3-pointer.
Unphased, head coach Jason Christensen and company ended the first half on a timely 10-5 run to pull within three at the intermission. Senior forward Natalie Gottlob kickstarted the run with a field goal at the rim while Ihnen capitalized the spark with a triple off a dish from Tiger freshman Morgan Edelman with under 10 seconds to play. NWC outscored Dakota Wesleyan narrowly, 14-12, in the second quarter, and the Raiders maintained a 24-21 edge at the break.
Campbell, the 6-foot-4 center, ignited DWU to open the third period as she scored eight-straight points for the Tigers before Kaylee Kirk responded with a make of her own. Dakota Wesleyan rode the momentum to a 31-29 advantage as Kirk eclipsed double-digits scoring with 11 points and five rebounds. Yet, the Raiders answered the Blue and Gray's quick start with another made 3-pointer as both teams exchanged field goals in the third frame.
Kirk and the Tiger offense outscored Northwestern, 18-16, over the course of the stanza, though the Raiders controlled the upper-hand, 40-39, with one quarter to play. A steal midway through the frame by Edelman led to an ensuing basket by Sprakel as DWU forced 18 turnovers and notched 10 steals.
In the fourth period, Dakota Wesleyan raced out to a 10-2 burst thanks to free throws from Aspen Hansen and a field goal from Reiner with 6:25 left to play. DWU ended the night shooting 24-of-55 (43.6%) from the floor and 12-of-15 (80%) from the free-throw line, and the Tigers courted their then largest lead of the night, 48-41.
Northwestern cut the lead back down to three points, 48-45, with just under five minutes to play before DWU closed the door for good, using a 15-6 surge to end the contest. The Tigers secured the clean sweep of Northwestern thanks to the 63-51 victory as Dakota Wesleyan extends its home record to 9-2 on the season and collects its fourth-straight win.
UP NEXT
Dakota Wesleyan endures its final regular-season road trip of the 2021-22 campaign in a matchup versus Midland University at 2 p.m. from the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Neb.