Jan. 26—MITCHELL — It was all about defense for the Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team on Sunday.
After losing in the GPAC opener back in November, DWU got its revenge against Doane with a 66-55 victory in the Corn Palace. The Tigers were a thorn in the side of Doane all game on the defensive side.
DWU (17-4, 12-3 GPAC) held the Tigers to only a 30.6 shooting percentage during the game and held reigning GPAC women’s basketball player of the year Mak Hatcliff to only nine points on only 1-of-13 shooting from the field after she dropped 26 in the first meeting. DWU also forced 16 turnovers and blocked six shots.
Head coach Jason Christensen said the all-around defensive performance was one of the best for DWU this season and that it spearheaded the winning effort.
“I was happy that we kept them around 55 points. Against this team, that’s amazing and that’s why we won the game today,” Christensen said. “I thought we defended really well. I thought we rebounded the basketball. In the third quarter, I thought we should have rebounded a little bit better. But then turnovers, taking care of the basketball, teams that press us, it seems like we’re in that 15 to 18 turnovers and we were able to keep it to 10 today.”
The second quarter was really where the Tigers’ defense shined. Doane took a 19-18 lead at the 6:44 mark and then it was all DWU for the rest of the first half. The Tigers only allowed a single point the rest of the half and embarked on a 15-1 run to take a sizable 33-20 advantage into the locker room.
“It was our defense,” Christensen said about the second quarter. “We were switching, doing a really good job of switching, getting up on our switches too and not being lazy. It just all starts with our defense today.”
However, it wasn’t just that period where the defense shined. Doane finished the first half with a 26.1% mark from the field, only 18.2% in the second quarter, and turned the ball over 10 times. Hatcliff was held in check as well with only four points and two rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Even as Doane (13-7, 8-6 GPAC) began to hit more shots to begin the second half, DWU not only held its double-digit advantage, it swelled to a 47-30 lead by the 4:33 mark of the third quarter. The Tigers were holding their advantage despite Doane throwing zone defense looks and full-court presses at them. By the end of the third, DWU led 54-38.
The fourth quarter was much of the same. Whenever it seemed like Doane might try to mount a scoring run to get within striking distance, DWU shut it down and kept a sizable gap between the two.
However, the Tigers wouldn’t go away and had the lead down to nine with two minutes left. But Avery Broughton, who finished the day with a game-high 22 points, scored a layup on a cut and later a free throw to extend the lead to 12 with under a minute to go.
“They were huge points,” Christensen said. “As we talked about halftime, we needed to start cutting. We were standing on the perimeter way too much and Avery picked up on that. She had 22 points, but I guarantee five of her baskets were just cutting off the backside. It was huge that she picked up on that.”
Outside of Broughton, Emma Yost finished with 15 points and six rebounds and Maleighya Estes had eight. Maddie Portwine led Doane with 20 points.
The Tigers have won 11 out of their last 12 and will look to continue that hot streak on the road next Saturday, Feb. 1 at Midland.
No. 15 Dakota Wesleyan women 66 , Doane 55
Doane (13-7, 8-6 GPAC): Maddie Portwine 5-13 4-7 20, Macy Holtz 7-17 2-3 18, Mak Hatcliff 1-13 0-3 9, Megan Chambers 1-1 0-0 6, Libby Trausch 1-3 0-1 2, Kaylee Klover 0-2 0-0 0, Addie Hatcliff 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Ella Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-49 6-14 55
DWU (17-4, 12-3 GPAC): Avery Broughton 7-12 3-6 22, Emma Yost 5-10 0-0 15, Maleighya Estes 4-11 0-3 8, Taliyah Hayes 2-7 1-4 7, Rylee Rosenquist 1-2 0-1 6, Shalayne Nagel 3-5 0-0 6, Mya Wilson 1-6 0-4 2, Avery Orth 0-1 0-0 0, Jaida Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 4-18 66
DU 14 20 38 55
DWU 15 33 54 66
3-point field goals: DWU 4-18 (Broughton 3-6, Hayes 1-4, Wilson 0-4, Estes 0-3, Rosenquist 0-1), DU 6-14 (Portwine 4-7, Holtz 2-3, Hatcliff 0-3, Trausch 0-1). Rebounds: DWU 30 (Yost 6, Nagel 6, Rosenquist 5, Estes 4), DU 27 (Holtz 5, Hatcliff 5, Chambers 4, Trausch 4, Klover 4). Assists: DWU 18 (Nagel 5, Yost 3, Wilson 3), DU 7 (Holtz 2, Trausch 2). Steals: DWU 8 (Wilson 2, Yost 2, Nagel 2), DU 6 (Hatcliff 3, Portwine 2). Blocks: DWU 6 (Wilson 2, Yost 2, Hayes 2) DU 3 (Holtz 1, Chambers 1, Klover 1). Turnovers: DWU 10, DU 16. Total Fouls: DWU 17, DU 19. Fouled out: Holtz.
