Midland Athletics
Jeff Braun, Assistant Athletic Director
YANKTON, S.D. – Midland University’s women’s basketball team continued its winning ways, pushing their streak to three-straight with a 75-49 win over Mount Marty University in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action on Tuesday night. Midland improves to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the GPAC while Mount Marty drops to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the league.
The Warriors shot 40.6 percent (28-of-69) from the field compared to 30.6 percent (19-of-62) for the Lancers. Midland put away 13 shots from beyond the arc versus 5 for Mount Marty. Midland outrebounded the opposition 49-38. The Lancers came away with an impressive seven blocks. Junior Lexis Haase continued her tear with 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Peyton Wingert was solid on both sides of the ball with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Katy Gathje chipped in 12 points to go along with five rebounds.
The Warriors set the tone in the first quarter of play by going up 9-0 after a three from junior Sam Shepard with six minutes remaining. Mount Marty finally got on the board with a layup, but a three from Wingert saw Midland’s lead advance to 12-2. The threes kept coming for Midland as Shepard, Wingert, and freshman Kennedy Darner each found success down the stretch, giving the Warriors a 21-11 edge heading into the second quarter.
Midland continued rolling into the second quarter as the team went on a nine-point run to open the frame. The Lancers finally found an opportunity to score after a jumper had Midland up 30-13 with 6:34 to go. Mount Marty would go back-to-back with threes, followed by a pair of free throws to bring things to 30-21. The Warriors got back on track and took a 41-29 lead going into halftime.
The third quarter was a defensive battle as the teams combined for 29 rebounds versus just 20 combined points. Haase saw an opening for a three with 6:03 to go to see Midland’s lead at 48-31. The Lancers attempted to chip away at the lead, but Gathje sent the Warriors into the final quarter on a good note after dropping in a layup.
Haase found success from three yet again as the junior’s shot had Midland up 58-42 with six minutes remaining in the game. Rebounds both defensively and offensively allowed Midland’s lead to extend to 62-42 with 3:45 to go. The Warriors finished the game much like they started, hitting four threes down the stretch to earn the 75-49 win.
“I felt like execution-wise this was one of our better offensive games,” said head coach Shawn Gilbert postgame. “We moved well and outside of a stretch in the third, we made shots. I was especially proud of how we adjusted and got tough defensively in the second half. We were able to make it tough for Mount Marty and we rebounded well.”
Midland (7-1, 4-1 GPAC) will return to action for a midweek Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup with Doane (3-2, 1-1 GPAC) on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. in Crete, Neb.