The No.4 Dordt University women's basketball team outlasted (RV) Dakota Wesleyan 75-74 in overtime in a thrilling GPAC semifinal game played this afternoon at the De Witt Gym.
The win propels the Defenders into its first ever GPAC Championshp game where they will host No.2 seed / 18th-ranked Briar Cliff on Tuesday night at 7pm. Dordt, the regular season champion and No.1 seed in the eight-team postseason tournament, improves to 28-2.
Karly Gustafson finished one rebound shy of a double-double as she led the Defenders with 16 points and nine rebounds before fouling out early in the overtime period.
Bailey Beckman and
Janie Schoonhoven both contributed 10 points each; all eight Defenders that played in today's semifinal scored at least six points.
This was the third match-up of the season between the two rivals and the game did not disappoint the 1000-plus fans in attendance, who were treated to an epic semifinal that featured 10 lead changes and neither team leading by more than seven points.
Tied at 16 after one quarter, Dordt trailed by two, 33-31, at intermission. The Defenders held the lead just twice in the opening half, the first after a three-pointer from
Macey Nielson (23-22) and the second time on a basket by Gustafson (25-24) with 4:07 left in the half.
Still a two-point game (39-37) early in the second half, Dakota Wesleyan scored five straight points and grabbed its largest lead (44-37) after a three-pointer by Matti Reiner with 3:47 left in the third quarter. Dordt responded with its best run, outscoring DWU 10-0 over the final 3-plus minutes of the third quarter, a run that started with a Beckman jumper and ended with a couple of Beckman free throws to give the hosts the lead, 47-44.
A basket by
McKenna Klecker gave Dordt its largest lead of the game (49-44) after the opening possession of the fourth quarter. DWU rallied, tying the game at 51 and eventually taking the lead back (56-55) on the first of two three-pointers hit by Morgan Edelman in the final quarter. Following a two minute stretch where the teams traded baskets, another Edelman three-pointer and a basket by Rylee Rosenquist put the Tigers back in front, 64-58, with 2:37 left to play.
Down four (65-61) with under two minutes left, Dordt scored the final four points of regulation on a pair of
Macy Sievers free throws and a lay-up by Gustfson with 1:03 left, sending the game into overtime. Both teams missed on a chance to win it in regulation.
In overtime, the teams traded points for the first three minutes, leading to a tie game, 71-71, at the 2:11 mark. A basket by Schoonhoven, followed by a defensive stop and a converted jumper by Sievers, put Dordt in front, 75-71, with under a minute left. Rosenquist converted a three-point play to bring DWU to within one at the 39 second mark, and following a missed shot by the Defenders, the Tigers had one last chance to win it but Rosenquist had her last second shot blocked by Van Holland, to secure the Dordt win.
By The Numbers...
- Dordt shot 42% for the game, 31% from 3-point line; DWU shot 48% from the field, 43% from the arc
- both teams made 10 free throws and totaled 11 turnovers
- Dordt had a 40-34 rebounding edge, including a 15-6 advantage on the offensive glass
- the Defenders outscored DWU 19-2 on second chance points and 36-22 on points in the paint
- Sievers led the Defenders with six assists and was second on the team with seven rebounds
- DWU was led by Morgan Edelman with 16 points; Matti Reiner added 15 points and nine boards
