Mside maintains two-game GPAC edge, rolls on road

CRETE, NEB. - Morningside College scored 20 of the first 29 points and didn't look back in Great Plains Athletic Conference play Wednesday, Jan. 6.

The 20-9 start for head coach Jamie Sale's squad was part of a larger 46-26 halftime cushion built over the opening 20 minutes. That lead was forged due to six made three-point buckets and and a near-perfect 18-of-19 outing at the charity stripe coupled with 19 turnovers from Doane University.

Mside's fast start allowed Sale and his staff to go to the bench en route to a 72-49 victory that was the Mustangs' seven successive and 25^th in 26 chances all-time against the Tigers. Eleven of the 14 Maroon players that took the court inside the George and Sally Haddix Recreation Center gym tallied points, led by 12 from junior forward Sophia Peppers (JR/Exira, Iowa) (Exira, Iowa) and 10 from senior guard Sierra Mitchell (SR/Pleasant Hill, Iowa) (Pleasant Hill, Iowa). Peppers, as has been the case of late, had much more to her line than points, adding nine rebounds, dishing out four assists and picking up three steals. Sophomore guard McKenna Sims (SO/South Sioux City, Neb.) (South Sioux City, Neb.) and senior guard Faith Meyer (SR/Pomeroy, Iowa) (Pomeroy, Iowa) wound up with nine apiece, and the duo of junior forward Taylor Rodenburgh (JR/Hawarden, Iowa) (Hawarden, Iowa) and senior guard Grace Meyer (SR/Pomeroy, Iowa) (Pomeroy, Iowa) contributed eight and seven points off the bench, respectively.

Morningside (11-2 overall) concluded the first half of its 2020-21 GPAC slate with a stellar 10-1 record that wound up six victories straight. They begin the second half of the loop season Saturday, Jan. 9, welcoming Hastings College to Allee Gymnasium and the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center for a 2 p.m. game.