Fast-starting DWU foils Mside attempt at back-to-back GPAC tourney titles

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside University got another pair of double-figures from its top-flight offensive combination of senior guard Sierra Mitchell and Sophia Peppers Tuesday, March 1.

However, third-seeded Dakota Wesleyan University completed their Cinderella run through the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament, scoring 14 of the first 17 points en route to an 83-60 decision inside Allee Gymnasium of the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center.

The reigning league Player of the Week, Mitchell, upped her double-digit scoring string to 14 consecutive games. She tallied 16 behind better than 50 percent field goal shooting (seven of 13) and added three steals and two assists to her line. Peppers finished with 15 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot. 

Despite those efforts, head coach Jamie Sale's squad couldn't get untracked from outside the arc, hitting on just five of 26 attempts and also getting waylaid on the glass to the tune of 47-34 by the visiting Tigers. Morningside, seeing its 32-game homecourt win streak and a current run of seven straight triumphs concluded, now awaits its 2022 NAIA national tournament opening-round foe. The No. 7-ranked Mustangs host a section of the opening round Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12.