Box Score No.1 Dordt University defeated Morningside 67-55 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) women's basketball match-up played tonight at the De Witt Gymnasium.
With tonight's win, the Defenders clinched their third consecutive GPAC regular season title, improving to 20-1 in the conference, 26-1 overall.
Macy Sievers scored a career-high 28 points and finished one assist shy of a triple-double to lead the Defenders.
Janie Van Donge contributed 16 points and nine rebounds and
Desta Hoogendoorn scored nine points coming off the Defenders bench.
Trailing by eight (42-34) late in the third quarter, the Defenders outscored Morningside 12-0 over the final 2:30 to pull ahead for good, 46-42, by quarter's end. Sievers had her hand in all 12 of the Defenders' points during the decisive run, scoring eight points and providing the assist on baskets by
Gracie Schoonhoven and
Olivia Harazin.
Dordt continued its run into the fourth quarter, scoring the first six points to build up a 10-point lead after two free throws by Sievers followed by a lay-up and two free throws by Van Donge. Morningside scored the next five points to get the lead back down to five (52-47) but the Defenders quickly responded with a 7-0 run of their own, capped by another three-pointer along with a steal and lay-up by Sievers, to push their lead back to 12 (59-47) with four minutes left.
The Defenders trailed 16-13 after one quarter as Morningside started hot from beyond the arc, making 4-of-11 three-pointers in the opening period.
Dordt came back by scoring the first nine points of the second quarter to force Morningside into a timeout after a three-pointer by
Willow Bleeker and a run-out basket by Hoogendoorn. Morningside ralled with a 9-2 run and the teams traded baskets over the final minutes as the first half ended with Dordt leading by two, 30-28.
Tied at 34 early in the third quarter, the Mustangs scored eight consecutive points and held the Defenders scoreless for just over four minutes as the visitors held their largest lead (42-34) at the 2:44 mark.
By the Numbers:
- Dordt shot 39% from the field, 50% (6/12) from beyond the arc
- Morningside shot 37% from the field, 23% (6/26) from the three-point line
- the Mustangs made just 2-of-15 three-pointers after the first quarter
- Dordt held the edge at the free throw line, making 13-of-18, compared to 5/7 by the Mustangs
- the Defenders held a +2 advantage on the glass (39-37)
- Dordt committed 18 turnovers; Morningside 22
- Alexis Spier led the Mustangs with 16 points, all scored in the first half
- Lily Vollertsen added 15 points and 10 boards and Sam Ehlers scored 10
Notes:
- Dordt swept the season series against Morningside and pushed its win streak to seven games against the Mustangs
- the Defenders held Morningside to its second lowest point total (tied) of the season
- Dordt has won the last three GPAC regular season titles; last GPAC team to do this was Concordia, who four straight (2016-17, 17-18, 18-19, 19-20)
- the Defenders will be the No.1 seed in the upcoming GPAC Tournament that begins Wednesday, Feb. 26
- both Sievers and Van Donge have scored in double-figures in a team-high 24 games this season
- Sievers recorded her 11th double-double of the season, her seventh with points + rebounds
- Van Donge scored in double figures in her fifth straight game
- Willow Bleeker made two three-pointers in tonight's game, her 17th consecutive game making at least one three-pointer
