Tiger women cruise past Briar Cliff

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(Luke Hagen/Republic) DWU's Kim Johnson goes up for a layup during a game against Briar Cliff Saturday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

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With an offense clicking on all cylinders, the Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team topped Briar Cliff 96-72 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference battle Saturday to get their 20th win of the season.

It was a playoff type atmosphere from the start.

”It was physical and intense and it was a great GPAC game,” said Tiger coach Jason Christensen. “We had some mental-tough toughness. This whole year we’ve let leads slip away but (Saturday), we didn’t do that. We built on the lead and finished it. I was pretty proud of these kids for that.”

The contest was off and running from the start with neither team being able to pull away from the other until eight-minute mark of the first half.

DWU led 31-27 when the Tigers went on a 9-2 run and a 40-29 lead.

On the strength of a 3-point shot and a basket from Celeste Beck, and a 3-point basket from Brittany Hills, DWU led 50-35 at halftime.

The Tigers had seven 3-point baskets in the first half with the Chargers close behind dropping in five 3-point shots.

BC opened the second half on fire with a 10-3 run to get to within 53-45. But that’s as close as the Chargers got.

DWU got 3-points shots from Beck and Elizabeth Lamb to expand the lead to 59-45.

BC stayed close at 69-58 but a 3-point shot from Amanda Hart stretched that lead to 72-58 and the Chargers couldn’t recover.

“It’s a good feeling for me, but it’s especially good for the kids,” Christensen said. “The kids have really bought into what we’re trying to do in this system and in three years’ time we hit 20 wins and that tells you what kind of kids we have in this program.”

The Tigers were led by Beck with 22 points, including four 3-point shots.

“I shot the ball and it went in and my teammates kept looking for me,” Beck said. “All of us were shooting well and they couldn’t guard any of us.”

Kim Johnson followed with 20 points, which included a milestone. A second-half free throw gave Johnson, a 5-foot-11 junior, 1,000 points in her career as a Tiger.

Johnson gave credit for reaching her 1,000 point to her teammates.

“It means a lot, but I’ve got a great team behind me,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. All the credit goes back to them.”

Hills added 16 points and six assists and Hart, on the strength of five three-point baskets, ended the night with 15 points. Katie Johnson scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Taylor Piper had eight assists and five steals.

The Tigers (20-10, 11-9) were 33-of-72 for 47 percent from the floor and 17-of-19 for 90 percent from the free-throw line. DWU outrebounded BC 46-32 and had 20 turnovers.

The Chargers, ranked ninth in the nation, were led by Lexi Henschke with 13 points and Jordan Sanger with 10 points.

BC (22-8, 13-7) was 26-of-57 for 46 percent from the field and 11-of-22 for 50 percent from the free-throw line.

The two teams will see each other again Wednesday to open the playoffs, this time in Sioux City Iowa.

DAKOTA WESLEYAN 96,

BRIAR CLIFF 72

DWU (20-10, 11-9 GPAC)

Elizabeth Lamb 2-9 0-0 6, Taylor Piper 0-1 0-0 0, Brittany Hills 4-8 6-6 16, Kim Johnson 8-17 4-4 20, Amanda Hart 5-14 5-13 15, Celeste Beck 8-16 2-2 22, Katie Johnson 6-6 3-3 15, Lexie Christensen 0-0 1-2 1; Michaela Erickson 0-0 1-2 1; Skyler Heyden 0-0 0-0 0; Taylor Kuhn 0-0 0-0 0; Shekela Quarles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 33-71 17-19 96.

BC (22-8, 13-7 GPAC)

Kelsey Evans 3-7 0-2 8; Kela Cihak 1-2 1-2 4; Sara Reeves 2-5 0-0 6; Slone Masters 4-6 0-0 9; Lexi Henschke 3-7 4-12 13; Paige Herrboldt 1-3 0-0 2; McKenzie Shipley 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Fuller 0-1 0-0 0; Kaitlin Meister 0-2 0-0 0; Chante Williams 1-2 0-0 3; Heather Haber 3-3 2-2 8; Regan Cooper 4-10 1-2 9; Jordan Sanger 4-8 1-2 10. Totals 26-57 11-22 72.

Halftime DWU 50, BC 35. 3-point shots: DWU 13-28 (Hart 5, Hills 2, Beck 4, Lamb 2), BC 9-23 (Henschke 4, Evans 2, Haber 2, Cooper 1, Sanger 1, Cihak 1). Rebounds: DWU 46 (Katie Johnson, 10, Kim Johnson 9), BC 32. Assists: DWU 28 (Piper 8, Hills 6, Lamb 4, Kim Johnson 4), BC 16 (Evans 4). Turnovers: DWU 20, BC 23. Blocks: DWU 1, BC 1. Steals: DWU 14 (Piper 5, Hills 3, Lamb 3,) BC 10. Fouls: DWU 17, BC 17. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.

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