Mustang
BASKETBALL WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5
A home and away week begins in the friendly confines of Allee Gymnasium of the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center this evening for Morningside University. The Mustangs welcome the College of Saint Mary as the first half of the 2021-22 Great Plains Athletic Conference schedule continues. Following tonight’s tilt with the Flames, Mside takes to the road for games at Midland University Jan. 8 and Hastings College Jan. 12 that wrap up the first session of loop action before beginning the second half at home Jan. 15 versus Doane University.
THE SERIES Head coach Jamie Sale’s program has won the previous 17 meetings against CSM. That run includes a pair of victories during 2020-21 by 77-40 and 80-46 scores. Four match-ups have been decided by 10-points-or-less. The last occurred in the 2016 conference postseason tournament.
THE MATCH-UP In what is moving towards a historic senior season, Sierra Mitchell became Morningside’s all-time leader in games played during the trip to the University of Jamestown. Her 145th in a Mustangs uniform surpassed former career top spotter Jill Pudenz who appeared in 144 contests from 2002-06. Mitchell continues to track closer and closer to the program’s ultimate all-time mark in scoring. She can become just the second player in school history to reach 2,300 with 11 more points and is 44 away from going past current record holder Amy Wilhelm’s (2,332) mark. Fellow senior Sophia Peppers continues her rise up the school’s scoring chart. She goes into the evening just 12 points short of moving into the No. 21 slot. Holding host University of Jamestown scoreless for nearly five minutes down the stretch, a cold-blooded Morningside University defense equaled the minus 13-degree temperatures outside Harold Newman Arena Jan. 1. Sale’s squad needed every bit of that grit and determination to overturn as large as a nine-point second-half deficit. Mirroring how the host Jimmies closed the first 20 minutes, a 9-4 stretch to hold a 37-33 at the break, Mside didn’t surrender a field goal or home point for four minutes and 38 seconds to make a 68-61 Jamestown lead turn to an insurmountable 73-68 advantage with just 37 seconds left. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ No. 10-ranked Mustangs, improving to 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, kept a one-game lead on the loop standings. Peppers led the comeback to a 78-73 final with two critical blocked shots and a six-for-six effort from the free-throw line over the last 10 minutes, part of a 17-point, four-rebound, three-assist, two-blocked shot outing. Looking further into the box score, Mitchell and sophomore center Chloe Lofstrom put their names in the double-digit registry, too. Mitchell went for 20 with three three-pointers included. Lofstrom had a memorable afternoon, tallying a personal single-game career-high 25 points to go with 11 rebounds for her fifth career double-double. College of Saint Mary brings a 9-5 overall and 3-5 league record to Sioux City. The Flames have been guided by the tandem of sophomore forward Honnah Leo and junior guard Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, who average 12.5 points per game. The pair has also been the team’s most prolific three-point shooters, averaging just under two makes per outing.