Dakota Wesleyan women top Northwestern in GPAC tourney quarterfinal
Feb. 28—ORANGE CITY, Iowa. — For the second year in row, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team rose to the challenge against Northwestern College in the first round of the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament.
The fifth-seeded Tigers shot nearly 56% from the field and never trailed for an 80-68 victory over the No. 4 Red Raiders on Wednesday night at the Bultman Center. DWU will now face No. 2-ranked Dordt in the GPAC semifinals on Saturday, March 2 in Sioux Center, Iowa, with a 3 p.m. tip time.
Rylee Rosenquist led the way for the Tigers with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists, powered by 8-for-12 shooting. Emma Yost had 14 points, Morgan Edelman had 13 points and Mya Wilson tallied 10 points for DWU (20-9), which opened up a 9-0 lead in the game over the first 1 minute and 45 seconds.
The Tigers were able to assert themselves in the paint earlier in the game, outscoring the Red Raiders 28-10 in the first half and 46-38 for the game. DWU led by as many as 12 points in the first half before taking a 42-35 halftime lead. Rosenquist had 19 of her 21 points over the final three quarters, leaving the Red Raiders with no answer.
Northwestern pulled to within four points late in the third quarter but DWU kept the Red Raiders at bay by answering with field goals and layups. An 11-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Shalayne Nagel with 4 minutes left put DWU up by as many as 14 points. DWU also finished with a 21-9 edge for points off turnovers.
NWC (18-11) had 26 points from Hali Anderson and 24 points for Molly Schany but no other Red Raider scored more than six points. Northwestern ends the regular season with an 18-11 record.
The teams, which were both 14-8 in GPAC play during the regular season, were playing a rubber match between the two teams this season. Northwestern won the first game 69-67 on Dec. 6, 2023 in Orange City, while DWU won 70-61 on Jan. 24 in Mitchell. DWU also won last season's quarterfinal matchup, a 69-62 win at the Corn Palace.
Saturday's semifinal game will be the third consecutive season the two teams have played in the GPAC semifinals. Dordt, which lost its first NAIA game of the season on Saturday against Northwestern, dropped to No. 2 in Wednesday's final top-25 poll of the season. Second-seeded Concordia and No. 3 seed Briar Cliff also advacned in Wednesday's quarterfinal games.
Dakota Wesleyan women 80, Northwestern 68
DWU (20-9): Rylee Rosenquist 8-12 5-6 21 Emma Yost 6-11 0-0 14 Morgan Edelman 5-6 3-4 13 Mya Wilson 2-5 5-6 10 Shalayne Nagel 3-6 0-0 7 Taliyah Hayes 2-6 5-5 9 Maleighya Estes 3-3 0-0 6 Anna Campbell 0-3 0-0 0 Jaida Young 0-0 0-0 0 Totals 29-52 18-21 80.
Northwestern (18-11): Hali Anderson 10-18 5-6 26 Molly Schany 11-15 2-4 24 Kylie Foss 1-2 1-2 4 Lexie Van Kekerix 2-10 0-0 4 Maren Nerem 0-3 1-2 1 Emily TerWee 2-5 2-4 6 Akaysa Duitscher 1-3 0-0 3 Kaydin Davis 0-0 0-0 0 Totals 27-56 11-18 68.
DWU 20 42 58 80
NWC 13 35 51 68
3-point field goals: DWU 4-14 (Yost 2-5, Nagel 1-2, Wilson 1-3, Hayes 0-2, Rosenquist 0-1, Campbell 0-1), NWC 3-12 (Foss 1-2, Anderson 1-3, Duitscher 1-3, Van Kekerix 0-4). Rebounds-offensive: DWU 25-5 (Rosenquist 6, Yost 5, Edelman 5), NWC 31-12 (Schany 7, Foss 7, TerWee 6). Total fouls: DWU 15, NWC 21. Fouled out: None. Assists: DWU 13 (Rosenquist 6), NWC 14 (Anderson 5, Van Kekerix 5). Turnovers: DWU 13, NWC 18. Blocks: DWU 2 (Yost, Edelman), NWC 2 (Anderson, Van Kekerix). Steals: DWU 9 (Edelman 3), NWC 5 (Anderson 2, Foss 2).
