Morningside Hands MSU First Loss

SIOUX CITY -- The outcome was the same the last time Minot State played here, but the circumstances were totally different.

Morningside downed the Beavers 81-71 in a matchup of nationally ranked NAIA women's basketball teams Sunday at Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center, avenging a 103-94 loss on Oct. 30 in Minot, N.D.

The top-ranked and defending national champion Mustangs, who have struggled out of the gate this season, had five players reach double figures while moving to 3-4 overall. No. 10 Minot State, meanwhile, lost for the first time in four outings.

Morningside and Minot State hooked up in a memorable contest in the 2008 national tournament at the Tyson Events Center. The Mustangs won the quarterfinal game 87-86 after an apparent game-winning shot by Minot State was waved off after a review of the videotape determined the clock had expired before the shot was taken.

There was no such drama this time around. Morningside got off to a fast start and held off a Beaver rally in the second half in its final tuneup before the start of the Great Plains Athletic Conference season.

"I was very happy with out defense, especially in the first half," said Morningside Coach Jamie Sale. "We were way more active than we have been all year and we finally kind of followed the plan that we had laid out. We did a better job of pressuring them at the points we wanted them to and rebounding the ball and we did a lot better job protecting the ball."

Brittany Williamson led the balanced Morningside scoring ledger with 15 points while Laura Nelson added 14 points, Tanaeya Worden 11 points and Leslie Foral and Roni Miller 10 points each. Sale shoot up his lineup, bringing Nelson and Chelsie Trask off the bench and Nelson responded, nailing four three-pointer in the first half.

The Mustangs raced to a 22-8 lead in the first 10 minutes and enjoyed a comfortable 41-20 halftime cushion. Minot State, shooting 54.5 percent (18-for-33) in the second half, trimmed the deficit to single digits late in the contest, but nine points was as close as the Beavers would come.

MacKenzie Mack, a 5-11 senior, scored 22 points and snared 18 rebounds for Minot State. Caroline Folven, Ari Hendrix and Sacarra Molina added 10 points each.

"They were real aggressive defensively in the first half," said Minot State Coach Sheila Green Gerding, in her 15th season at the helm. "We just didn't look to attack offensively and take advantage of the things we probably thought we should have. Give credit to their defense because they put a lot of pressure on us and I don't think we handled that very well in the first half."

Foral, a 5-10 senior, added five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

"We came out in the first half and played hard and played together as a team," said Foral, one of three returning starters from the national championship team. "We've been striving for that all year, but we just haven't been able to do it until today.

"Last time we played them we tried to outscore them and keep up with them, but this time we focused on enthusiasm and playing together, playing defense and it seemed to work for us."

Morningside opens its conference season at Midland Lutheran on Saturday.

MINOT STATE (71)

Sam Medcalf 3-8 0-0 6, Caroline Folven 4-10 2-4 10, Whitney Loftesnes 2-8 0-0 5, Ari Hendrix 4-12 1-2 10, MacKenzie Mack 8-15 5-6 22, Adrianna Cordova 2-3 2-2 6, Sacarra Molina 4-8 0-0 10, Caitlin Durkin 1-1 0-0 2, Kallie Erickson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 10-14 71.

MORNINGSIDE (81)

Shelby Beaudette 3-5 0-1 7, Sarah Culp 0-5 2-2 2, Tanaeya Worden 4-12 1-4 11, Leslie Foral 3-3 2-2 10, Brittany Williamson 6-10 3-4 15, Laura Nelson 5-12 0-0 14, Chelsie Trask 2-8 0-0 5, Roni Miller 4-6 2-2 10, MacKenzi Mendlik 1-2 0-1 2, Katie Sponder 1-1 2-2 4, Brittany Alfredson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 29-65 13-20 81.

Halftime -- Morningside 41, Minot State 20. 3-point shots -- Minot State 5-21 (Molina 2-3, Loftesnes 1-6, Hendrix 1-5, Mack 1-3, Medcalf 0-3, Cordova 0-1), Morningside 10-29 (Nelson 4-11, Worden 2-4, Foral 2-2, Trask 1-4, Beaudette 1-2, Culp 0-4, Mendlik 0-1, Alfredson 0-1). Rebounds -- Minot State 45 (Mack 18), Morningside 37 (Miller 6). Assists -- Minot State 15 (Medcalf 5), Morningside 19 (Foral 5). Turnovers -- Minot State 17, Morningside 12. Total fouls -- Minot State 19, Morningside 17. Fouled out -- Williamson. Officials -- Royce Ranniger, Mike Kleinschmidt, Ann Traphagen.