MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE GA M E DAY - F E B R UA RY 27 , 20 2 1
MUSTANG BASKETBALL It’s the third edition of the 2020-21 River City Rivals series as crosstown Great Plains Athletic Conference foes clash this afternoon with a trip to the 2021 GPAC postseason tournament title tilt on the line. Head coach Jamie Sale’s top-seeded Mustangs enter with a 24-2 record and an 18-game win streak. Briar Cliff University, coached by Brita Hand, stands 17-9 as the fourth seed. Mside advanced to today’s semifinal with a hard-fought 84-75 victory over eighth-seed Jamestown. BCU handled Dordt University with a 67-54 win in the four-five contest.
THE MATCH-UP The two regular-season meetings were thrillers at both sites. Morningside rallied from an early deficit at the Newman Flanagan Center and was held off by the host Chargers on a buzzer-beater bucket in an 80-78 final in early December. The Mustangs returned serve at home in early January, claiming a 76-69 decision heavily influenced by a 29-13 run over the first 10 minutes. Five players finishing in double-figure scoring helped launch the No. 7-ranked Mustangs to an 18th straight victory on Feb. 24. The eighth-seeded Jimmies scored the first eight points and stayed as close as five with over three-and-a-half minutes to go before a six-of-six effort at the free-throw line from the home team sealed the decision. Senior guard Sierra Mitchell and freshman post player Chloe Lofstrom proved an impactful inside-out punch for the Mustangs. Mitchell turned in a 27-point outing, hitting seven three-pointers in the process, to go along with five rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Lofstrom had a considerable evening, too, inside Allee Gymnasium of the RosenVerdoorn Sports Center. She went for 17 points, a personal singlegame high, added to six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Sophomore guard McKenna Sims (12 points) and junior forwards Sophia Peppers and Taylor
Rodenburgh (11 points apiece) chipped in their names to the double-digit parade. Peppers’ quarterfinal round output helped her close in on a personal milestone. She is 12 points from the 1,000 mark. Mitchell’s 14th double-digit outing in the last 15 contests moved her within 50 of the 2,000-point career mark. Five times in her current hot streak, the senior has been at-or-above 20 points.
CHARGER CLIPS The Chargers have won four of their last five, including the midweek quarterfinal round triumph. A Treynor tandem of junior post player Madelyn Deitchler and sophomore guard Konnor Sudmann top Briar Cliff’s numbers. Sudmann averages 14.4 points per game and has canned 30 three-pointers in the process. Deitchler is at 14.2 points per outing and has snared better than seven rebounds per appearance. Looking further into their statistics, sophomore guard Payton Slaughter has been strong with 38 treys and 99 assists, and freshman guard Kennedy Benne has collected 96 steals.
MORNINGSIDE MUSTANGS NO.
NAME
YR.
POS.
2 4 10 11 12 13 14 15 23 24 25 30 32 33 40 44
Olivia Boudreau Sierra Mitchell Grace Meyer Madison Clayton McKenna Sims Tayte Hansen Abbe Morten Lauren Hedlund Taylor Rodenburgh Faith Meyer Sophia Peppers Alexis Spier Amanda Ward Blaire Steenhoek Sadie Roth Chloe Lofstrom Tenly Hansen
Fr. Sr. Sr. Jr. So. Sr. Fr Fr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Fr. So. So. So. Fr. Jr.
G G G G G G G G G G F G F G/F F PF G
HT. 5-9 5-6 5-8 5-8 5-8 5-7 5-8 5-6 5-9 5-7 5-10 5-7 5-9 5-9 6-0 6-0 5-11
HOMETOWN/ PREVIOUS SCHOOL Papillion, Neb./Papillion-LaVista Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Southeast Polk Pomeroy, Iowa/Pocahontas Area Sioux City, Iowa/West South Sioux City, Neb./Illinois State Uni. York, Neb./York Hartington, Neb./Hartington-Newcastle Albion, Neb./Boone Central Hawarden, Iowa/West Sioux Pomeroy, Iowa/Pocahontas Area Exira, Iowa/Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton Gretna, Neb./Gretna Longmont, Colo./Holy Family Chariton, Iowa/Southeast Warren Sioux Falls, S.D./Harrisburg Armstrong, Iowa/North Union York, Neb./York
Head coach: Jamie Sale Assistant coaches: Jill Bodammer, Denny Lokken, Jordyn Wollenburg, Bryan Alfredson
BRIAR CLIFF UNIVERSITY NO.
NAME
YR.
POS.
1 2 3 4 5 10 11 12 14 15 20 22 23 24 34 42 44
Kennedy Benne Kylie Kasuske Anna Sorenson Brylee Barr Konnor Sudmann Katie Baker Payton Slaughter Kaegan Held Madelyn Deitchler Paityn Hagberg Mya Hendry Michaela Lange Josie Condon Ashley Hohenstein Taylor Lamprecht Chloe Johnson Lauren Hauser
G G F G G G G G C G C G F C F F F
5-5 5-3 5-7 5-7 5-11 5-5 5-6 5-3 5-11 5-5 6-1 5-3 5-9 5-11 5-9 5-9 5-11
HT. Fr. So. So. So. So. Fr. So. So. Jr. Jr. Jr. Fr. So. Sr. So. Fr. Fr.
HOMETOWN/ PREVIOUS SCHOOL Oakland, Neb. Milbank, S.D. Graettinger, Iowa Greely, Neb. Treynor, Iowa Homer, Neb. Cherokee, Iowa Leigh, Neb. Treynor, Iowa Cherokee, Iowa Rapid City, SD Wynot, Neb. Estherville, Iowa South Sioux City, Neb. Ponca, Neb. Red Oak, Iowa Grand Island, Neb
Head coach: Brita Hand Assistant coaches: Jasmine Stohr, Bianca Gutierrez, Logan Ehlers
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