Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball team picked up the 70-65 comeback win over Morningside to stay unbeaten at home. The 14-point comeback was fueled by a career-high 18-point effort from Morgan Edelman who also had a game high nine rebounds and five assists. Isabel Ihnen was the only other Tiger in double figures with her 12 points, all coming from beyond the arc. Shalayne Nagel was a defensive enforcer from start to finish with her season-high four steals to go with three blocks. DWU is now 11-4 on the season (6-3 in GPAC) and is 7-0 at home.
Highlighted Player– Morgan Edelman ~ Career-high 18 points, 9 rebounds 5 assists 2 steals
Stat Leaders:
Points – Morgan Edelman (18)
Assists – Morgan Edelman (5)
Rebounds – Morgan Edelman (9)
Blocks – Shalayne Nagel (3)
Steals – Shalayne Nagel (4)
Recap
DWU took the first quarter 20-17 over the Mustangs thanks to a dominant, physical effort on the offensive glass grabbing a season-high nine offensive rebounds in the quarter. Those nine rebounds led to half of the Tigers first quarter points coming on a second chance board. Emma Yost led the way in that category with her five offensive boards, which resulted in sending her to the line 3 times in which she knocked down 5-6 attempts. It was Ihnen that got the Tiger bench and crowd going though with her two early triples that gave DWU an early lead. Dakota Wesleyan biggest lead of the quarter was six, but anytime they looked to go on a run and put some distance between them and their opponent, the Mustangs would answer back to keep it close. The Tigers never trailed in the quarter though despite MOR having a 46.2 field goal percentage compared to DWU 31.6.
Second quarter was a struggle for the Tigers offensively who had a tough time breaking down the Mustangs zone defense leading to just 11 points in the quarter. The Tiger defense stayed consistent allowing 18 in the quarter compared to the 17 in the first, but with the lack of offense the Tigers faced a 35-31 deficit going into half. With the zone defense the Mustangs were putting pressure on the Tigers to hit elbow/mid-range jumpers and made it difficult for the Tigers to go to their usual low post/dribble drive style of offense. The Tigers shot just 23.5 percent from the field and 20 percent from beyond the arc. Again, the offensive rebounds and second chance points provided six of the Tigers 11 points in the quarter. In the first half the usually high paint scoring Tiger offense only recorded eight points compared to the Mustangs 16.
The third quarter was almost an exact carryover from the second quarter as DWU was outscored 20-13, only scored two points in the paint, shot 31.3 percent, and 23.5 percent from deep. The Mustangs remained in their zone defense, forcing DWU to knock down mid-range shots that the Tigers just couldn't get to fall. The second chance points off offensive rebounds continued for the Tigers in the quarter getting six of their 13 points resulting from that. Dakota Wesleyan faced an 11-point deficit heading to the final quarter with their perfect home record at jeopardy.
If anyone knows this Tiger team, it is that they have ZERO quit in them. DWU took the court for the final quarter and from the first whistle it was like a sleeping giant had been awoken. The Tigers punished the Mustangs on both ends of the court going off for a game high 26 points and holding Morningside to a low 10 points. DWU continued to be all over the glass, racking up six offensive rebounds that led to 12 second chance points. On the defensive end Dakota Wesleyan recorded three steals and four blocks, which was almost exclusively thanks to Nagel who had two of the steals and three of the blocks. On the offensive side of the ball it was all Edelman who recorded eight points, five rebounds, and three assists in the quarter alone. The Mustangs sent the Tigers to the line for 12 attempts in the quarter in which DWU converted 10 of those attempts. The Tigers also doubled their points in the paint for the game with 10 in the fourth alone.
Head-to-Head (Morningside)
- The Tigers are 13-33 all-time against the Mustangs after the win.
- Dakota Wesleyan went 2-0 against the Mustangs last season.
- DWU won last year's matchups 75-71 against the at the time No. 3 ranked Mustangs and 68-65.
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball hits the road for a three-game road stint with the first game against College of Saint Mary Saturday, January 13 with tipoff at 2 p.m.
