"Faith"-ful Finish - Final seconds bucket raises win streak to nine

By Daniel Ver Steeg, Morningside College sports information student staff

SEWARD, NEB. – Morningside College totaled three players in double-figure scoring Saturday, Jan. 16.

However, a closer look at the stat sheet had to be done to get the reason for a 66-64 cliff-hanger victory for the Mustangs over Concordia University inside Friedrich Arena of the Walz Human Performance Center.

Senior guard Faith Meyer (SR/Pomeroy, Iowa) (Pomeroy, Iowa) finished with an eight-point, six-rebound, three-assist, two-steal line. A strong performance made even more so by the fact that her lay-up that trickled through the net with just over a second remaining gave head coach Jamie Sale's No. 11-ranked National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Mustangs their first sweep of recent Great Plains Athletic Conference power Concordia University since 2015-16.

Mside and CU were locked in a back-and-forth affair through the first 20 minutes of the game. The two sides were tied six different times throughout the half, and the lead changed sides six times. The visitors were the aggressor leading 38-35 and forced their hosts to commit 11 turnovers. The Maroon also distributed the ball well, compiling ten assists.

The second half was a much different story. Morningside scored one point through the first 7:42 of the second half before finally turning it on by going on a 10-0 run in the final 2:18 to lead by four heading into the fourth. Scoring wasn't much easier to come by in the fourth quarter, too, though. Sale's squad didn't tally a point the first 4:43, but once they got that first one, they were suitable for a whole lot more, scoring 15 in the final 3:40 of regulation.

The final moments were of a frenetic theme. Senior guard Sierra Mitchell (SR/Pleasant Hill, Iowa) (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) hit a three-pointer with 45 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 64. On the ensuing CUNE possession, Taylor Cockerill and Taysha Rushton each missed threes that would have given the home side a crucial late-game lead. Morningside took possession coming out of a timeout with 20 seconds left. They ran a play that resulted in Faith Meyer getting the ball in the corner with mere seconds to play. After faking a three-point shot, she drove baseline and laid the ball up and in with one and four-tenths of a second left on the clock. Concordia could not answer as the clock ran out.

Mside was led by Mitchell offensively as she finished with 15 points. Sophomore guard McKenna Sims (SO/South Sioux City, Neb.) (South Sioux City, Neb.) added 13, and senior guard Grace Meyer (SR/Pomeroy, Iowa) (Pomeroy, Iowa) contributed 12 off the bench in the win. Junior forward Sophia Peppers (JR/Exira, Iowa) (Exira, Iowa) set a new career-high on defense with five steals in the win.

Morningside continues a two-game road slate on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at Dordt University's DeWitt Gymnasium in Sioux Center. Game time is 6 p.m.