First half woes subdue Mustangs

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – A tough luck 20 minutes of field goal shooting and turnovers coupled with a red-hot offensive performance by visiting Hastings College spelled trouble for Morningside College Thursday, Jan. 24.

The Mustangs managed just a nine of 31 effort from the field and surrendered 14 turnovers in the first half. Meanwhile, the Broncos were on fire hitting at 73.9 percent from the field to take a 55-27 lead into the locker room. Head coach Jamie Sale's side got off the mat quickly in the second half, scoring the first nine points and eventually using a 40-20 run to pull as close as eight in the middle stages of the final period. With the home crowd inside Allee Gymnasium at the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center in a frenzy with the possibility of a complete reversal, Hastings managed to find enough fuel to stem the tide down the stretch to a 91-78 Great Plains Athletic Conference win and sweep of the season series.

In the wake of a second successive loop loss that dropped Mside, ranked No. 9 on the current National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II poll, to 17-6 overall and 9-6 in the GPAC, there was a silver lining. Sophomore guard Sierra Mitchell (SO/Pleasant Hill, IA) (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) and junior forward/center Sydney Hupp (JR/O'Neill, NE) (O'Neill, Neb.) helped spearhead the second half charge points-wise, both tallying 11 points with Mitchell extending her streak of games with a made three-pointer to 36 and Hupp nearing a double-double with seven rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Jordyn Moser (JR/Harlan, IA) (Harlan, Iowa) played a big role in a stifling Maroon full-court defense that made things difficult on the Bronco defense in the second stanza, picking up five steals to go with nine points, and freshman forward Sophia Peppers (FR/Exira, IA) (Exira, Iowa) led the bench efforts, going three-of-three from the field which included hitting both of her three-point attempts to finish with eight points.

Morningside continues its two-game homestand Saturday, Jan. 26. Fourth-ranked Dakota Wesleyan University comes to town for a 2 p.m. tip-off.