Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball squad earned the massive 13-point comeback victory 68-65 over Morningside. DWU was lead by the true freshman Rylee Rosenquist who did not back away from the big moment and carried her team in crunch time scoring 10 points alone in the fourth quarter. Matti Reiner was great all-night scoring 18 points and six rebounds. DWU improves to 20-7 (14-7 GPAC) with the Mustangs dropping to 16-11 (10-10 GPAC).
Stat Leaders:
Highlighted Player: Rylee Rosenquist 18 points 5 rebounds 3 steals
Points – Matti Reiner & Rylee Rosenquist (18)
Assists – Morgan Edelman (5)
Rebounds –Jada Campbell (7)
Blocks – Jada Campbell (3)
Steals –Morgan Edelman (5)
Recap –
Dakota Wesleyan came out of the gate a little lackluster on both ends of the court, struggling to get the offensive set going with the Mustangs tight defense and then being a step slow on contest on the defensive side allowing the Mustangs to get good looks. Morningside opened the quarter jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The Mustangs did most of their damage from deep in their route to winning the quarter 23-13. Reiner was the main source of offense for the Tigers in the quarter scoring most of her buckets on iso moves with the shot clock running down. In the closing minutes MOR continued to increase on that lead, leading by as much as 12 with one minute left in the quarter. Reiner led with her six points in the quarter.
DWU woke up in the second quarter, dominating the quarter 21-12. Dakota Wesleyan returned the favor to start the quarter by opening up on a 6-0 run. Dakota Wesleyan turned up the heat on the defensive end of the floor forcing Mustang turnovers and capitalizing on those mistakes. The Tigers also picked up the pace in transition not allowing the Mustangs defense to get settled in. Morningside struggled to keep up with this change of pace and reflected on their offensive side, totally flipping their percentage from the first quarter to the second quarter. The Tigers used a steady flow of Rosenquist aggressive play around the rim and strong drives and Reiner's pull up game to close the gap. As usual the Tigers dominated the paint in the first half 24-14, but the Mustangs kept their lead with perimeter shooting which as been the Tigers only knock is the hesitation from beyond the arc and lack of three-point shooting. Morningside shot 5-13 from three compared to the Tigers going 1-4 with Ihnen making the lone three in the second quarter. Dakota Wesleyan headed to half with just a one-point deficit (35-34).
The Tigers came out of the half the same way they opened the game struggling to find an offensive groove and making some careless mistakes with the ball. DWU opened the quarter with two turnovers that the Mustangs turned into points. Dakota Wesleyan also open the first five minutes scoreless. MOR won the quarter 23-13 the same margin that they took the first quarter. Dakota Wesleyan had good looks but couldn't get layups to fall inside. With 3:46 left in the quarter Morningside jumped out to their biggest lead of the game (13). DWU would head to the final quarter facing a 58-47 deficit.
If the fourth quarter could be renamed it would be ROSENQUIST. The freshman stepped up in a big way on both ends of the floor but mostly on the offensive end imposing her will on the Mustang defense inside with her trademark aggressive drives and physical play around the rim. Rosenquist would go for 10 points in the quarter alone showing no fear as a freshman and that she was made for big moments and big games. Rylee got the Palace fired up on a hustle play on defense forcing a Mustang turnover that got everyone to their feet. With 40 seconds left in the quarter and leading by two points, Ihnen drove from the elbow and got a tough contested shot to fall with 13 seconds left giving the Tigers a huge four-point lead. MOR converted a layup and Edelman hit 1-2 free throws after the foul to make it a three-point game with four seconds left. Morningside would miss the shot completing the 13 point comeback win for the Tigers.
Head-to-Head (Morningside)
- DWU is now 12-33 all-time against MOR with tonight's win.
- Dakota Wesleyan have now swept the Mustangs in the two season matchups with tonight's win and the 75-71 win November 12th against the at the time No. 3 Mustangs.
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball wraps up their season with a massive home matchup on senior night against (RV) Concordia to decide who hosts for the first round of the GPAC tournament. Winner hosts the rematch between the two teams in the tournament.