Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball team earned the massive 83-75 victory over No. 6 Concordia. The Tigers did it by dominating the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 57-31 and especially on the offensive glass which they won 20-6. Taliyah Hayes had yet another standout performance recording a career-high 25 points to lead her team. Morgan Edelman and Rylee Rosenquist were all over the place for DWU, both recording a double-double in the matchup. Shalayne Nagel had a stellar performance as well for the Tigers on both ends with her 14 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
Highlighted Player– Taliyah Hayes- 25 points 5 rebounds 3 steals
Stat Leaders:
Points – Taliyah Hayes (25)
Assists – Morgan Edelman & Emma Yost (4)
Rebounds – Morgan Edelman (13)
Blocks – Shalayne Nagel (3)
Steals – Taliyah Hayes (3)
Recap –
The Tigers on their home court and down key player in Isabel Ihnen, showed zero sign of intimidation of the No. 6 Bulldogs jumping out to an early 8-2 lead. DWU held that lead throughout the quarter, holding a 20-13 advantage through the first quarter. Despite the lead, the Tigers struggled with the Bulldogs full court press turning the ball over seven times in the quarter. Concordia took full advantage of these turnovers, turning the seven into nine of their 13 points. Outside the turnovers, the Tigers did a great job of contesting and shutting the Bulldogs offense that coming into the game was averaging over 80 points a game. On the offensive side, the Tigers got big production from Morgan Edelman and Taliyah Hayes who each had seven. Edelman, who is top five in the GPAC in rebounding, ripped down four rebounds in the quarter.
Concordia stayed in their full court press into the second quarter, which DWU broke down a lot better than in the first, limiting their turnovers to just four in the quarter. Those four turnovers though led to six Concordia points, bringing their total to 15 for the half compared to the Tigers just having two points off turnovers. The second quarter was a tight back and forth contest with two physical teams that know rankings and seeding is on the line. The Bulldogs won the quarter by a slim 20-19 margin, but it was DWU who held the 39-33 lead going to halftime. Hayes continued to carry the load on the offensive end of the court with her 11 points in quarter two, giving her 18 for the half, just three short of her career high. DWU who typically is a great free throw shooting team struggled in the first half going just 5-10 from the charity stripe. Edelman nearly recorded another double-double in just the first half alone with her 10 points and eight rebounds. As one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the nation, the Tigers lived up to that standard with 11 in the first half that led to eight second chance points compared to the Bulldogs zero.
In the third quarter Concordia opened it up with a 8-2 run to tie it up at 41. A little bit later in the action the Bulldogs drilled a three to go up one. This is when the Tigers dug in on defense and held the No. 6 Bulldogs scoreless the remaining 6:45 of the third quarter. On the offensive side of the court the Tigers poured in 20 points and held a 14-point lead going to the final quarter. DWU held their cool in the fourth quarter and played with the lead well, running the shot clock down every possession and running through their sets. Concordia won the quarter 31-25, but the Tigers, despite the free throw's struggles in the first three quarters went 13-18 in the fourth quarter. Mya Wilson stepped up in a monster down the stretch scoring all nine of her points in the game in the last two minutes of play. DWU picked up the big 83-75 win to hold onto the #3 seed in the GPAC.
Head-to-Head (Concordia)
- The Tigers are 18-40 all-time against Concordia with today's win.
- DWU split the season series with the CUN.
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball hits the road for a matchup with Morningside Wednesday, February 14 with tipoff at 6:00 p.m.