Sioux City, Iowa – Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball team picks up the statement 89-71 victory over No. 18 Briar Cliff. Lacey Sprakel was dominant from beginning to end with her 18 points off the bench followed by the always consistent source of offense in Matti Reiner with 17 points. Isabel Ihnen had 16 points followed by Morgan Edelman with 13 and Rylee Rosenquist with 12. DWU improves 15-6 (9-6 GPAC) with the No. 18 Chargers dropping to 16-5 (12-3 GPAC).
Stat Leaders:
Highlighted Player – Lacey Sprakel 18 points 5 rebounds 7-12 FGM-A
Points – Lacey Sprakel (18)
Assists – Morgan Edelman (5)
Rebounds – Morgan Edelman (7)
Blocks – Jada Campbell (2)
Steals –Rylee Rosenquist, Rynn Osthus & Matti Reiner (2)
Recap –
The Dakota Wesleyan women's Tiger squad came out blazing! They shot a staggering 72.2% in the quarter resulting in the 28-21 lead at the end of the first. Reiner and Rosenquist were going back and forth every position down the floor with Reiner doing it with dribble drive, pull up jumpers and Rosenquist with her usual strong drives to the rim and physical play down low. DWU spread the ball around which has led to most of their success this season, when they find the open shot instead of forcing one. Seven Tigers got in the scoring column during the quarter while racking up four assists.
DWU cooled off to open the second quarter going scoreless for nearly the first three minutes. Like all season though, you can't keep the squad down and quiet for long as they turned up the heat on the defensive side holding the Chargers scoreless for three minutes during a 11-0 run. Sprakel and Edelman did most of the damage for the Tigers on the offensive side during the quarter, scoring seven points apiece. Sprakel causing all kinds of problems for the BCU defense hitting two deep range shots and her physical play inside making her tough to matchup against. Edelman was attacking the Charger defense inside as well earning trips to the free throw line and knocking down all her attempts. DWU went a perfect 9-9 in the first half from the free throw line, showing their efficient shooting from everywhere on the court (57.6 FG, 57.1 3PT, 100.0 FT). Osthus and Ihnen had a heavy hand in the second quarter with Ihnen pouring in five and Osthus with four points. Dakota Wesleyan would head to the locker room with a 13-point 51-38 lead.
Dakota Wesleyan kept it rolling in the third quarter, winning the quarter 24-19. Ihnen was the offensive threat in the third quarter scoring nine points alone in the quarter. The Tigers kept their pace of play up as well just out running the Chargers and proving to be too much on both ends of the floor. DWU forced five Charger turnovers in the quarter while racking up three assists. Rosenquist got back in the scoring column after a quiet second quarter scoring six points in the third. Ihnen, like Sprakel in the second quarter, was doing it all with dribble drive pull ups and spot up threes. The Chargers continued to struggle on the defensive side pulling out all the stops of zone, the man defense, press, no press, but nothing would stick with the Tiger offense clicking the way it was. DWU headed to the final quarter with a 75-57 lead.
The fourth quarter had the Tigers slowing up the pace of play, looking to play the clock and just run the game out. Both teams scored 14 in the quarter for an 89-71 blowout victory for the Tigers. Reiner led with seven points in the fourth followed by Osthus with a deep range shot she got to go. DWU had five players with 12+ points in the contest. Sprakel led the way with 18 points off the bench, 17 for Reiner, 16 for Ihnen, 13 by Edelman and 12 points from Rosenquist. DWU shot an extremely high pace going 52.3% from the field, 43.8% from deep and 93.3% from the charity stripe. The defense was physical and suffocating as usual for Dakota Wesleyan, forcing 16 turnovers in the contest.
Head-to-Head (Briar Cliff)
- DWU is now 34-21 all-time against BCU with today's win.
- Dakota Wesleyan fell in the first meeting to the, at the time No. 22 Chargers 65-48, but have now split the season matchup against the Chargers.
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball close out their January schedule in Orange City, Iowa, Monday January 30th against No. 20 Northwestern with tipoff at 6:00 p.m.