Mustang
BASKETBALL TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022
For the second successive season, Allee Gymnasium and the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center host the Great Plains Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament championship. Top-seeded and regular-season champion Morningside University, ranked No. 6 on the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics poll, faces third-seeded Dakota Wesleyan University. Mside is seeking its second straight and eighth all-time tournament title. DWU is aiming for its first league tournament championship in program history.
THE SERIES/GPAC TOURNEY HISTORY Morningside captured both regular-season tilts, winning 73-63 at home in midNovember and 70-64 at the Corn Palace less than two weeks ago. The Mustangs have a 35-9 all-time advantage over the Tigers. However, DWU has claimed seven of the previous 11 meetings. Dating back through 2016-17, the Mustangs are 7-4 in league tourney action, including five straight victories and the 2021 title. They have a 33-13 all-time conference tournament mark with championships in 2021, 2016, 2013, 2009, 2006, and 2004.
THE MATCH-UP Two of the league’s hottest teams take to the court tonight. Morningside has won seven in a row. Dakota Wesleyan has reeled off three in a row and captured eight of its last nine. Eight-tenths of a second Feb. 26, decided a spot in the 2022 GPAC tournament championship. Following a timeout and overtime seemingly looming in the offing, Mside put its game-winning plan into motion. “We ran that last sequence just like we wanted,” head coach Jamie Sale said. “It was designed to clear out the side and find Chloe (Lofstrom). She was able to get to the ball, and then Northwestern committed the foul. It was a nerve-wracking situation, but it worked out.” “At first, when I heard the whistle blow, I thought the game was over,” Lofstrom admitted. “However, the officials then said I was going to shoot two free throws. I knew I needed to make at least one because overtime would have been tough, so, after the first one didn’t go in, I just kept thinking, ‘I’ve got to do this for my team.’” Lofstrom’s second attempt did go gently through the net for a 73-72 Mustangs lead. Northwestern still had one more offensive attempt with four-tenths to go with the home crowd in bedlam. However, Morningside’s defense extinguished an attempted lob to post player Molly Schany as the clock ran out. Senior guard Sierra Mitchell led Mside’s scoring attack with 16 points and also dished out a team-leading seven assists. Junior guard McKenna Sims was next in line with 14 points which was the exact total for senior forward Taylor Rodenburgh, who hit on four-of-six three-point attempts highlighted by three in the first 20 minutes that thwarted NWC’s chances to grow leads. Senior forward Sophia Peppers added 12 points. Lofstrom, the late-game heroine, was only three points away from a doubledouble (seven points and ten rebounds).