SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Morningside jumped ahead early, and relied on their defense to come away with the 62-52 victory over (RV) Northwestern Wednesday night inside the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center and Allee Gymnasium.
Morningside led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter as Lily Vollertsen had nine points in the quarter off the bench for the Mustangs. The second quarter was even, as both sides played strong defense and scored 14 points in the quarter. Morningside led 31-23 at the half, but the story of the game in the opening 20 minutes was defense.
The Morningside defense was stifling throughout the game Wednesday night. By halftime, Northwestern was two turnovers shy of a season-high. Northwestern committed their season-high 22nd turnover with 4:17 to play in the third quarter and a Chaise Pfanstiel three-pointer off the turnover made it 47-27 Mustangs.
After opening a 24-point lead late in the third quarter, Northwestern cut it back to 19 with 48 seconds left, but an Olivia Larsen lay-up gave Morningside a 55-34 lead after three quarters.
Northwestern battled back in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to nine with 2:35 to play. With a 60-51 lead, Morningside’s defense clamped up again, allowing a single point over the final two-and-a-half minutes to seal the victory.
Three Mustangs finished the game in double figures. Vollertsen tallied 12 points and seven rebounds. Alexis Spier added 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Pfanstiel tallied 10 points and three assists.
In total, Northwestern committed a season-high 28 turnovers and Morningside tallied 21 turnovers in the defensive slugfest. Olivia Larsen tallied six steals to lead all players Wednesday.
With the win, Morningside moves to 6-5 in GPAC play and 9-7 overall. The Mustangs are tied for sixth in the conference with Doane.
Morningside hits the road after winning the last two games at home. Next up is a road trip to Fremont, Nebraska to face Midland. Morningside defeated the Warriors 70-54 at home in early December.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – A NAIA Top-25 showdown between the No. 20 Mustangs and No. 14 Northwestern lived up to the billing Wednesday night inside the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center and Allee Gymnasium. The Mustangs held a one-point advantage at the half, but a strong defensive half in the second allowed for Morningside to pull away with a 78-64 win.
The first half was as tightly contested as anticipated for the two squads tied for second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference standings. There were six lead changes as the two teams traded basket for basket and turnover for turnover. Morningside was able to open up a slim lead of six in the final minutes of the half, but a 7-2 burst to end the half cut the Morningside lead to a single point, 38-37.
The second half started much like the majority of the first, with the two sides trading points and leads. Morningside went on a 7-0 run to open up a 55-48 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish. A Caleb Dreckman three-pointer stretched the lead to double digits for the first time, 61-50, and an Aidan Vanderloo three gave Morningside its largest lead of the game, 78-59, with 1:57 to go. Northwestern scored the final five points, but the damage was done.
Dylan Johnson was the scoring leader for Morningside, pouring in 18 points off the bench, including four triples. Ely Doble, coming off a career performance Sunday against Doane, recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Vanderloo added 12 points. Jack Dotzler was a passing machine Wednesday, recording nine assists to go with eight points.
The Mustangs stand alone at 8-2 in the GPAC. Hastings leads the conference with an 8-1 record, but the Mustangs defeated Hastings in Hastings earlier this month.
Morningside hits the road Saturday, heading to Fremont, Nebraska to take on Midland. The Mustangs defeated the Warriors in early December 100-88.
