DWU women top Prairie Wolves

Jason Christensen thinks his team has come out slow after the holiday break.

Nonetheless, the Dakota Wesleyan women’s basket-ball team has come away with yet another victory, beating Nebraska Wesleyan 69-53 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Saturday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

“We’re playing a little tentative and rusty right now, and we’re not quite as confident as we were right before Christmas,” said Christensen, DWU’s head coach. “We’ll get there and they give me effort every night and I’m proud of them for that.

“We need to come with more energy, and I thought we came out flat. We had a chance to put them away a couple different times, but let them back in. We need to start taking care of busi-ness.”

The key to winning DWU’s sixth straight game was in its defense. The Tigers forced 23 turnovers in the game.

“Our defense keeps us in games,” Christensen said. “When you force that many turnovers, it usually pays off on the offensive side of the ball.”

DWU (14-4, 6-3 GPAC) had three players score in double figures and was led by Celeste Beck with 17 points, making three 3-pointers. Kim Johnson rec-orded 13 points in the win and Amanda Hart chipped in with 12, making a game-high four three-point bas-kets.

The Tigers shot 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from behind the arc and 75 percent from the free-throw line.

Christensen said despite shooting well in the game, his team needs to be more aggressive on the floor.

“We’ve got to become a better rebounding team,” said Christensen, whose team was outrebounded 37-30. “It’s something we’ve been working on but it’s still not there yet.”

The Prairie Wolves (2-12, 0-9 GPAC) were led by Mallory Shanahan, who recorded a double-double with game-highs 23 points and 12 rebounds. Nebraska Wesleyan shot 42 percent from the field, 20 percent from the three-point range and 47 percent from the free-throw line.

The Tigers’ next action is against Northwestern College at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Orange City, Iowa.

DAKOTA WESLEYAN 69

NEBRASKA WESLEYAN 53

DWU (14-4, 6-3 GPAC)

Elizabeth Lamb 3-13 0-0 7; Taylor Piper 1-4 0-0 2; Amanda Hart 4-8 0-0 12; Brittany Hills 2-6 3-4 7; Kim Johnson 6-12 1-2 13; Lexie Christensen 0-0 0-0 0; Michaela Erickson 1-2 1-2 3; Celeste Beck 5-8 4-4 17; Skyler Heyden 0-0 0-0 0; Katie Johnson 4-4 0-0 8; Shekela Quarles 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 26-57 9-12 69.

NWU (2-12, 0-9 GPAC)

Emily Leines 3-7 1-1 7; Janelle Baal 1-4 0-0 3; Mallory Shanahan 10-15 3-3 23; Felicia TeKolste 1-5 0-3 2; Kaitlyn Janata 3-9 0-2 6; Courtney Cook 2-7 1-2 5; Erin Walker 0-1 2-4 2; Brooke Podtburg 0-0 0-0 0; Lauren Ziegenbein 0-0 0-0 0; Kelly Sanchez 2-3 0-0 5; Tessa Kurtenbach 0-2 0-0 0; Totals: 22-53 7-15 53.

Halftime: DWU 37-22. 3-point goals: DWU 8-21 (Lamb 1, Hart 4, Beck 3), NWU 2-10 (Baal 1, Sanchez 1); Rebounds: DWU 30 (Lamb 7), NWU 37 (Shanahan 12); Assists: DWU 18 (Lamb 3, Piper 3, Kim Johnson 3), NWU 14 (Walker 4); Steals: DWU 11 (Hills 4), NWU 5 (Baal 2); Personal fouls: DWU 11, NWU 15; Technical fouls: None.

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