Mustangs rebound against Northwestern

ORANGE CITY, IOWA – Morningside's women's basketball team was looking for a way to move forward from Wednesday night's setback entering today's contest, but no. 16 Northwestern wasn't going to be an easy team to bounce back against. The Mustangs, giving it their all, were able to flip the script, upsetting Northwestern on its home court 66-64.

A strong first quarter was key for Morningside, as Olivia Larsen and Chloe Lofstrom scored Morningside's first points, while defensive efforts, including blocks by Larsen and Sophia Peppers and a steal by Alexis Spier, gave the Mustangs a 23-15 advantage at the end of the quarter. 

Northwestern would take the lead late in the third quarter, but a three-pointer from Peppers, with an assist from Lauren Hedlund, followed by a spicy Peppers buzzer beater, assisted by Spier, would give the Mustangs the lead heading into the final frame.

The Raiders would tie the game again with 6:16 to play, taking a 60-58 lead a missed shot later. Spier got as she attempted to tie the game, sending her to the foul line, where a pair of free throws did the job. Peppers countered a pair of NWC free throws with a bucket, and Aspen Jansa took a pair of shots from the stripe to give Morningside a wider lead. Larsen went to the stripe a minute later, giving the Mustangs a 66-62 lead. 

With less than a minute on the clock, the Raiders put up a pair of additional free throws to close the gap to two points.The Mustangs ran the clock down, missing a shot to put the game away with less than 10 seconds on the clock. 

A Northwestern timeout advanced the ball to the front court, setting up to take the game winner. The Raiders took a shot to tie, missed, grabbing the rebound and kicking it out to try for the game winner, but Morningside's defense shut down the attack, rendering the Raiders unable to get off the game winner.

Morningside was led in scoring by Spier, with 13, followed by Larsen, with 11. Jansa and Lofstrom followed with nine points each, and Peppers and Lily Vollertsen had eight apiece. McKenna Sims wrapped up the scoring with seven points off the bench.

Lofstrom and Spier co-led the Mustangs' rebounding efforts, with five each. Larsen followed with four boards, and Hedlund and Vollertsen each had three.

The Mustangs are back on the road on Thursday, traveling to Jamestown for a 5 p.m. contest, before playing a pair of neutral court games next week.