Defensive Gem - Mside gains key league decision

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – In need of a victory to halt a two-game skid, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Division II No. 8-ranked Morningside College used a hard-nosed defensive effort Saturday, Dec. 8.

Despite being out-rebounded 42-31 by a hard-charging University of Jamestown offense, head coach Jamie Sale's Mustangs kept the Jimmies' penchant for three-point shooting at a minimum and limited their visitors to just 35 percent overall field goal accuracy and a tepid 29 percent effort from outside the arc in route to a 69-60 Great Plains Athletic Conference win. The Mustangs (8-3 overall, 6-3 GPAC) overcame an early 8-5 deficit with a 15-2 roll and didn't look back, leading by as much as 18 before a late Jamestown run decided the final margin.

Junior forward/center Sydney Hupp (JR/O'Neill, NE) (O'Neill, Neb.) led the offense with 15 points, while sophomore guard Sierra Mitchell (SO/Pleasant Hill, IA) (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) finished with 14 which included a pair of three-point buckets. Mside's bench managed a pivotal role, too, as junior guard Skyler Snider (JR/Kearney, NE) (Kearney, Neb.) notched nine points and four rebounds, and freshman guard Taylor Rodenburgh (FR/Hawarden, IA) (Hawarden, Iowa) added eight points and eight rebounds to spotlight a 28-point afternoon effort.

Morningside steps out of loop play until early January. The Maroon begins a set of five straight nonconference matchups hosting Bellevue University Saturday, Dec. 15. Tip-off time is 2 p.m. inside Allee Gymnasium at the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center.