Mustangs suffer season-ending loss in NAIA First Round

WICHITA, KAN. – Morningside Women's Basketball's season came to a close in the 2023 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball Championship First Round, falling 78-65 in a heartbreaker to Dakota State University. The Mustangs fell behind early, but fought back throughout the game, outscoring the Trojans in the final quarter.

Sophia Peppers led the Mustangs' scorers as she has so many times prior, scoring 18 points in the contest. Lily Vollertsen followed with 15 off the bench, followed by Chloe Lofstrom, with 13, and Aspen Jansa with 12. Chaise Pfanstiel rounded out Morningside's scoring, with seven points.

In the ball-handling category, Olivia Larsen had a team-high four assists, followed by Peppers and McKenna Sims, with three each. Ella Wragge dished two assists, while Lofstrom, Vollertsen, Jansa, Pfanstiel, and Lauren Hedlund each had one. Peppers had a team-high six steals, with Larsen, Pfanstiel, and Jansa each with three, while Vollertsen had two alongside three blocks.

Peppers had seven rebounds in the contest, Lofstrom had six, Alexis Spier had five, Sims and Vollertsen had four, Jansen and Larsen had two, and Wragge had one.

Morningside ends its season at 17-13 after racking up an 11-10 Great Plains Athletic Conference schedule, having qualified for the NAIA postseason for a 22nd consecutive season.