Sioux Falls, S.D. – No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball was nearly even across the board with the Vikings of Augustana Saturday afternoon, until it came to turnovers. The Tigers were poised with 15 turnovers allowing Augie to score 15 points off those turnovers. While DWU forced eight turnovers from the Vikings, scoring 12 points off those turnovers.
The Quick Details
Score:
#7 DWU 66 – AU 89
Records:
No season records were affected as it was an exhibition game for both teams.
How It Happened
DWU got the jump on Augie right away to open the game as Jada Campbell, Matti Reiner, and Isabel Ihnen all collected on shots for a three-point lead over the Vikings. Augustana tied the game at 8-8 though on their next trip down the floor with a shot from deep. After the Vikings went up by two, 10-8, the Tigers and Augustana went into the media timeout. Once play resumed with six minutes and 19-seconds left in the first quarter, DWU went cold for the following two-minutes as the Vikings put five more points up for the 15-8 lead over the Tigers. Campbell broke the dry spell with a jump shot to cut the margin back to five points, but Augustana set it back to seven just second later. Dakota Wesleyan struggled in the final minute of the first quarter to find a basket as they trailed 29-12 heading into the second quarter.
DWU got started slow in the second quarter, as it took a few possessions to get rolling. Aspen Hansen started the scoring for the Tigers with a layup before Reiner hit a shot beyond the arc, cutting the margin to 33-17 making it the closest DWU came to tying the game ahead of the first media timeout of the second quarter. Out of the media pause, Morgan Edelman hit a layup bringing the Tigers even closer as they trailed by 15 with 4:25 remaining before halftime. The Vikings continued to make baskets as DWU went three-minutes and 15-seconds before grabbing their next point from Edelman after grabbing the offensive board. Reiner secured the final point of the half from either team with 44-seconds to go, but Dakota Wesleyan still trailed 44-25 at the break.
It was a close third quarter for both the Tigers and Vikings as DWU notched 22 points to Augustana's 24 points. Over the opening minute and a half, Dakota Wesleyan was on a 6-3 run dropping the Augie lead to 16. In the next two-minutes before the media timeout, DWU and the Vikings went nearly point-for-point as both teams score five points, just in different fashions. Augie made a three pointer before converting on a pair of free throws, while the Tigers also made a shot from deep then grabbing two points of a jump shot. Once play resumed and a hockey like line change from the Tigers, DWU grabbed three more points on a shot from deep from Campbell, but they now trailed the Vikings by 21 points with 2:13 left in the third quarter. With under a minute to go, Ihnen and Reiner both hit three-point shots to trail the Vikings by 19, but a pair of free throws by Augie, pushes their lead back to 21 heading into the fourth quarter.
Dakota Wesleyan was unable to claw back into the exhibition game in the fourth quarter, after the Vikings started things off with a 10-7 run pushing their lead out even more to 78-54. After the media timeout with just under four-minutes to go, Edelman made a layup, but the margin still sat a 20-points. DWU tallied the final basket of the game with 31-seconds to go as Maleighya Estes hit a jump shot for the final score of Vikings 89, Tigers 66,
Overall, DWU shot 41.3% from the floor, 36.8% beyond the arc, and 70% at the foul line. The Vikings narrowly outrebounded the Tigers 37-35 and with points off turnovers 15-12. DWU scored 19 second chance points, 34 points in the paint, and four fast break points, while the DWU bench chipped in with 14 points as the game saw four lead changes and six ties.
Beyond the Results
- Matti Reiner: 15 points, 55.5 FG%, 60 3-pt%, 2-for-2 free throw shooting, five rebounds, and two assists
- Morgan Edelman: 12 points, 66.6 FG%, and three rebounds
- Isabel Ihnen: 11 points, 42.8 3-pt%, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals
- Jada Campbell: 10 points, 40 FG%, 1-for-2 beyond the arc, four rebounds, and one block
Up Next
The Tigers are back in action at home for a pair of conference games Friday and Saturday. On Friday, December 2, DWU will play in the battle of the Tigers as they welcome Doane to the Corn Palace for a 5 p.m. tip-off. On Saturday, December 3, the Tigers will square off against the Broncos of Hastings in a 2 p.m. tip-off.