Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball falls to #22 Briar Cliff 65-48 for the first game of the 2023 year. The Tigers couldn't overcome their 22 turnovers in the game, resulting from physical play from the Chargers. BCU changed the pace of the game as soon as they went to their full court press that the Tigers didn't have an answer for. DWU drops to 10-4 (4-4 GPAC) on the season with BCU improving to 11-4 (7-2 GPAC).
Stat Leaders:
Points – Morgan Edelman & Isabel Ihnen (10)
Assists – Matti Reiner (3)
Rebounds – Rylee Rosenquist (6)
Blocks – Rylee Rosenquist & Matti Reiner (2)
Steals –Morgan Edelman (4)
Recap –
Both squads opened the first quarter with a physical style of defense with the Tigers only allowing six points in the entire quarter (their second lowest total of the year) and the Chargers holding DWU to 11 points. During the first quarter the Tigers used a balanced attack of the inside game with Campbell and perimeter shooting with Ihnen and Reiner. Dakota Wesleyan shot efficiently during the quarter but started to struggle when BCU went full court press in the middle of the quarter.
Opening the second quarter the Tigers got two buckets increasing their lead to 15-6. Briar Cliff's full court press really got to the Tigers following the baskets committing six turnovers over a three-minute span that also resulted in the Chargers going on a 11-0 run to grab a 17-15 lead. DWU regrouped on offense and regained the lead to close out the quarter on a 14-9 run for a slim 29-26 lead. The Tigers shot an extremely efficient 59.1% from the field during the half but committed 11 turnovers that BCU took full advantage of to keep it close.
The third quarter was all Chargers and their continued full court press and physical defense that resulted in only eight DWU points in the quarter. BCU netted 20 in the quarter giving them a 46-37 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter was a lot of the same type of play in the third quarter with the Tigers not having an answer for the Chargers pressure and physical style of play. Briar Cliff won the quarter 19-11. Dakota Wesleyan was never able to get anything going on the offensive side due to the pressure and physical play from BCU. DWU shot an efficient 41.2 from the floor but just couldn't overcome the turnovers for a 65-48 final.
Head-to-Head (Briar Cliff)
- DWU is now 33-21 all-time against BCU with tonight's loss.
- Last meeting the Tigers won by a score of 63-56 on January 29th, 2022.
Up Next
Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball continues their GPAC schedule with a road matchup against the Concordia Bulldogs, January 7th, 2023 with tipoff at 2:00 p.m.