Bultsma dominates in MVP's 52-30 win

The Ethan Rustlers had no answer for Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Megan Bultsma Friday.

The senior forward scored 18 of the Titans' first 20 points, propelling MVP to a 52-30 win in the Dakota Wesleyan Culver's Classic at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

"My teammates were able to find me early tonight," said Bultsma, who finished with 26 points on an 11 of 12 shooting effort. "I was feeling good in warmups, and everything went well. We were moving the ball around a lot, so we worked well together as a team."

The Titans never trailed in the contest, and benefited from an early 10-0 run. MVP continued its momentum throughout the first half, as it held a 33-18 lead at halftime. The Titans didn't miss a shot in the first half, going 14-of-14 from the floor.

"It was tough to come back from that," Ethan head coach Tom Young said. "They're a good team, they don't turn the ball over. If they get in trouble, they can still go down the floor and get a good shot off. You have to give them credit, they're just a really good basketball team."

In addition to Bultsma, Makaela Karst chipped in with 17 points, going 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. MVP shot 20-of-27 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free-throw line.

"We're capable of scoring it from the perimeter," MVP head coach Bill Marquardt said. "They really did a good job of defending, I thought we should have been able to get into the paint off the dribble against them, but it wasn't happening very much. We were excited about the big lead early, it certainly surprised us against a team like that."

Karly Gustafson led Ethan with 11 points on a 4 of 9 shooting effort, while Kacey Bartscher had nine points and made three 3-pointers. The Rustlers shot 11-of-36 from the floor and 3-of-9 from the free throw line.

The Titans (15-1) take on Hanson on Monday in Alexandria, while Ethan (13-4) faces Freeman on Tuesday in Freeman.

MVP 14 33 40 52

E 3 18 28 30

Scoring summary:

Mount Vernon/Plankinton (15-1)

Payleen O'Day 4 Erin Denning 5 Makaela Karst 17 Megan Bultsma 26

Ethan (13-4)

Rachel Hawkins 2 Janae Gustafson 4 Karly Gustafson 11 Ellie Hohn 2 Kacey Bartscher 9 Amanda Miller 2

1/2: Ethan's Rachel Hawkins, 22, tries to block MVP's Payleen O'Day, 1, during a game on Friday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. The two teams were competing in the DWU Classic. (Sarah Barclay/Republic)

2/2: Ethan's Rachel Hawkins, 22, tries to dodge MVP's Stephanie Faulhaber, 3, during a game on Friday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. The two teams were competing in the DWU Classic. (Sarah Barclay/Republic)