Tiger women fall to No. 10 Northwestern

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ORANGE CITY, Iowa — No. 24-ranked Dakota Wesleyan University led by 10 at halftime but couldn’t hold it, falling to No. 10-ranked Northwestern 69-66 Wednesday in a Great Plains Athletic Conference women’s basketball game.

“We competed and played hard,” said DWU coach Jason Christensen, whose team is 14-5 overall and 6-4 in the GPAC. “It’s just frustrating when you come that close to upsetting a team like that and don’t get it done.”

DWU’s last lead was on a layup by Celeste Beck with 6:27 to play. Northwestern tied the game at 57 on its next possession and kept a two-point lead for the remainder of the game.

Beck, who had a team-high 18 points, knocked down a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to get the Tigers within 66-64, but Northwestern hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch and Amanda Hart missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 8 seconds left.

“It was one of those games where I wish we could play the last five minutes over again,” Christensen said. “But I have to give our kids credit for the way they played.”

Wesleyan’s 10-point halftime lead was its largest of the game. Hart had four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes for all 12 of her points and Elizabeth Lamb had 10 of her 15 points in the first half.

DWU forced 13 turnovers in the first half. Christensen said the first half was the best defense he’s seen his team play all season.

DWU shot 41 percent from the field on 25-of-60 shooting and was outrebounded 35-23. Kim Johnson had a team-high six rebounds and she added eight points.

Northwestern was led by Kendra De Jong’s 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Red Raiders were 28-of-57 from the field and finished the game with 18 turnovers.

No. 10 NORTHWESTERN 69,

No. 24 DAKOTA WESLEYAN 66

DWU (14-5, 6-4 GPAC)

Kim Johnson 4-12 0-2 8, Elizabeth Lamb 4-9 3-4 15, Taylor Piper 1-2 0-0 2, Amanda Hart 4-16 0-0 12, Brittany Hills 2-5 2-2 6, Lexie Christensen 0-0 0-0 0, Celeste Beck 8-12 0-0 18, Katie Johnson 2-4 1-2 5. Totals: 25-0 6-10 66.

NWU (13-4, 7-3 GPAC)

Kendra De Jong 7-10 6-9 20, Samantha Kleinsasser 7-12 0-1 14, Paige O’Neal 1-2 1-2 3, Karen Hutson 6-11 5-6 17, Alli Dunkelberger 2-6 0-0 4, Mackenzie Small 3-6 0-0 6, Cassidy Brenon 0-3 0-0 0, Mallory Cunard 1-6 0-0 3, Ashley Williamson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 28-57 12-18 69.

Halftime: DWU 38-28. 3-point goals: DWU 10-25 (Hart 4, Lamb 4, Beck 2), NWU 1 (Cunard). Rebounds: DWU 23 (Johnson 6), NWU 35 (De Jong 13). Assists: DWU 15 (Lamb 4), NWU 19 (O’Neal 5). Turnovers: DWU 16, NWU 18. Total fouls: DWU 15, NWU 14. Technical fouls: None.

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