Tiger women fall to No. 9 Mount Marty

The Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team came close to catching the No. 9-ranked team in the country Wednesday night, but it couldn’t quite close the gap.

The Tigers got within five points with just over seven minutes left to play against Mount Marty, but the Lancers were able to pull away for a 71-54 win.

“They just executed down the stretch better than we did,” DWU coach Aaron Kahl said. “We didn’t defend as well as we had to and they made some good plays.”

Mount Marty (9-1, 2-1) pulled the lead out to 19, 52-33, midway through the second half, but Elizabeth Lamb hit a 3-pointer then nailed four straight free throws to cut the lead to 12, 52-40.

Ashley Johnson and Jessica Bartscher each hit a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point game, 54-46, and DWU hit two more baskets to close the gap to six with 7:20 left to play.

From there, however, the Lancers went on a 15-4 run to close out the game and pull away for the win.

“We let it get to 56-50, then we got a 3-pointer and knew we had to get back to work,” Mount Marty coach Tom Schlimgen said. “We had a nice three-minute stretch (at the end).”

Mount Marty’s hot shooting got it off to a quick start early in the game. The Lancers went 6-for-7 from the field – including three 3-pointers – to grab a 15-3 lead less than four minutes in.

Allison Johnson hit back-to-back baskets to get the Tigers back in the game and cut the deficit to seven, 17-10. Dakota Wesleyan (4-6, 1-2) but Mount Marty’s lead to single digits on several occasions, and went on a 7-2 run to end the half down by seven, 34-27.

“We’ve been really good out of the gates this year,” Schlimgen said. “(The fast start) didn’t surprise us; it’s becoming our trademark.”

Kendra Schomer, a transfer from the University of South Dakota, scored five quick points to start the half and spark an 18-5 run and the eventual 52-33 lead.

Allison Johnson, who was honored at halftime of the men’s game for scoring her 1,000th career point against Valley City State Nov. 14, led the Tigers with 16 points and Angela Noteboom added 14. Maggie Malloy had nine rebounds. The Tigers shot 38.3 percent from the field.

Michelle Amundson led the Lancers with 19 points. Kylie Gross added 17, Neth — a Scotland native — added 15 and Schomer finished with 11. Gross also had nine rebounds for Mount Marty, which had 40 rebounds to DWU’s 32.

“We knew they were going to shoot the ball,” Kahl said. “You have to give credit to their post players, because they stepped up and made shots and we didn’t adjust to that very well.”

The Lancers shot 44.8 percent from the field.

Up next for DWU is another Great Plains Athletic Conference foe. The Tigers host Concordia at 2 p.m. Saturday.

No. 9 MOUNT MARTY 71

DAKOTA WESLEYAN 54

Mount Marty (9-1, 2-1)

Cassie Neth 7-15 0-0 15; Kylie Gross 8-9 1-2 17; Jenny Miller 1-9 0-0 2; Kendra Schomer 4-10 0-0 11; Michelle Amundson 7-15 3-3 19; Taylor Richter 0-1 0-0 0; Alexa Berg 1-3 0-0 3; Taylor Forsch 0-2 0-0 0; Whitney Lickteig 2-3 0-0 4; Kelly Schilling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-67 4-5 71.

Dakota Wesleyan (4-6, 1-2)

Angela Noteboom 5-6 4-6 14; Ashley Mailey 0-2 0-0 0; Allison Johnson 6-12 3-3 16; Ashley Johnson 1-5 1-2 4; Maggie Malloy 3- 10 1-3 8; Elizabeth Lamb 1-4 4-4 7; Jessica Bartscher 1-5 0-0 3; Kenzie Dvoracek 0-0 0-0 0; Brittany Hills 1-3 0-0 2; Marie Olson 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 18-47 13-20 54.

Three-point goals-DWU 5-18 (Al. Johnson 1-2, As. Johnson 1-3, Malloy 1-4, Lamb 1-3, Bartscher 1-3), MM 7-29 (Neth 1-4, Schomer 3-8, Amundson 2-7, Berg 1-3). Rebounds-DWU 32 (Malloy 9), MM 40 (Gross 9). Turnovers-DWU 19, MM 11. Assists-DWU 12 (Al. Johnson 4), MM 15. Steals-DWU 4, MM 6. Blocks-DWU 3, MM 1.

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