Mustangs come out on top, 62-52, in defensive battle
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(RV) Northwestern (11-6, 7-4) | 9 | 14 | 11 | 18 | 52 |
|
Morningside (9-7, 6-5) | 17 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 62 |
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Morningside jumped ahead early, and relied on their defense to come away with the 62-52 victory over (RV) Northwestern Wednesday night inside the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center and Allee Gymnasium.
Morningside led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter as Lily Vollertsen had nine points in the quarter off the bench for the Mustangs. The second quarter was even, as both sides played strong defense and scored 14 points in the quarter. Morningside led 31-23 at the half, but the story of the game in the opening 20 minutes was defense.
The Morningside defense was stifling throughout the game Wednesday night. By halftime, Northwestern was two turnovers shy of a season-high. Northwestern committed their season-high 22nd turnover with 4:17 to play in the third quarter and a Chaise Pfanstiel three-pointer off the turnover made it 47-27 Mustangs.
After opening a 24-point lead late in the third quarter, Northwestern cut it back to 19 with 48 seconds left, but an Olivia Larsen lay-up gave Morningside a 55-34 lead after three quarters.
Northwestern battled back in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to nine with 2:35 to play. With a 60-51 lead, Morningside's defense clamped up again, allowing a single point over the final two-and-a-half minutes to seal the victory.
Three Mustangs finished the game in double figures. Vollertsen tallied 12 points and seven rebounds. Alexis Spier added 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Pfanstiel tallied 10 points and three assists.
In total, Northwestern committed a season-high 28 turnovers and Morningside tallied 21 turnovers in the defensive slugfest. Olivia Larsen tallied six steals to lead all players Wednesday.
With the win, Morningside moves to 6-5 in GPAC play and 9-7 overall. The Mustangs are tied for sixth in the conference with Doane.
Morningside hits the road after winning the last two games at home. Next up is a road trip to Fremont, Nebraska to face Midland. Morningside defeated the Warriors 70-54 at home in early December.
