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Mar. 20—SIOUX CITY, Iowa. — National tournament games aren't easy to win.
Through three games in the NAIA bracket, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team is making it look that way anyway.
For the third game in a row on Friday, the Tigers made a big run to put away an opponent and didn't give them a chance to get back in it. DWU claimed a 78-53 win over third-seeded Lindsey Wilson at the familiar venue of the Tyson Events Center in downtown Sioux City, moving the Tigers into the final eight in the running for a national championship.
They've played 120 minutes of game time and have not trailed. On Friday, the Tigers took the lead for good less than 3 minutes into the game, and then turned off the Blue Raiders' offense for the rest of the first quarter, to the tune of shooting 7% from the field.
"We just knew we had to come out and play hard right from the get-go, show them who we are," DWU senior Rylee Rosenquist said. "That's what we did. We came out, played hard, had a lot of fun, and just got a good jump on them."
At this point of the season, you don't get to the third round of the national tournament by accident or with a fluke. There's no way these games are easy. But DWU is making them look at that way.
"That's a question for the kids because I didn't think that was going to be the outcome, in terms of the score," DWU coach Jason Christensen said when asked how the Tigers have been so dominant. "I knew we could play with them and everything but I didn't think we would get off to the start that we did. This Lindsey Wilson team, (their) conference is like the GPAC. We've been battle-tested night in and night out and that was the key. ... You've got to match their physicality, otherwise it's going to be a long day for you."
"Our coaches do a great job of getting us prepared for big games like this," DWU junior guard Avery Broughton added. "Our scoring report was great for this game and even on a short turnaround going into (Saturday), we'll be prepared."
Lindsey Wilson had the look of what many national contenders have, with a decent amount of size among its players, plus skilled guards and balanced scoring. But DWU won the physicality and toughness battle early and seemed to take LWU out of its game for good.
DWU relatively got the looks they wanted and had a 16-2 edge for points in the paint in the first 10 minutes for a 20-4 lead.
With wins by margins of 28, 23 and 25 points in the first three rounds, DWU hasn't shown many signs of being nervous or afraid of the moment in the national tournament. On the other side of the bracket, the Tigers' conference rival Dordt is the only team that has blown out its opponents in a similar vein to DWU through three national tournament games.
Tigers' starter Broughton said she felt some nerves at the start of the game but those went away once the game started. The Tigers also had the benefit of having more than 500 DWU fans on hand to back them in a neutral venue.
"I just thought the energy was phenomenal. It was so fun. You could just feel it," Broughton said. "You look at that whole side, and it's packed with Dakota Wesleyan fans. That's just a phenomenal environment to play in."
DWU expects to see a similar profile in its Saturday quarterfinal opponent, taking on No. 1-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) at 6 p.m. They're skilled and have some size and have won their national tournament games by an average of 13 points.
The Tigers would love to bring the same national tournament recipe back to the Tyson on Saturday and keep this tournament run on the tracks.
"I told the kids, we've been on the big stage all year," Christensen said. "The Dordt (conference title) game was a big stage. We went to Hawaii. That was a big stage game. We got to host at the Corn Palace and those were big games. We've been in that situation before, so this is nothing different. Just go out and play and have fun."
Continue reading...
Through three games in the NAIA bracket, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team is making it look that way anyway.
For the third game in a row on Friday, the Tigers made a big run to put away an opponent and didn't give them a chance to get back in it. DWU claimed a 78-53 win over third-seeded Lindsey Wilson at the familiar venue of the Tyson Events Center in downtown Sioux City, moving the Tigers into the final eight in the running for a national championship.
They've played 120 minutes of game time and have not trailed. On Friday, the Tigers took the lead for good less than 3 minutes into the game, and then turned off the Blue Raiders' offense for the rest of the first quarter, to the tune of shooting 7% from the field.
"We just knew we had to come out and play hard right from the get-go, show them who we are," DWU senior Rylee Rosenquist said. "That's what we did. We came out, played hard, had a lot of fun, and just got a good jump on them."
At this point of the season, you don't get to the third round of the national tournament by accident or with a fluke. There's no way these games are easy. But DWU is making them look at that way.
"That's a question for the kids because I didn't think that was going to be the outcome, in terms of the score," DWU coach Jason Christensen said when asked how the Tigers have been so dominant. "I knew we could play with them and everything but I didn't think we would get off to the start that we did. This Lindsey Wilson team, (their) conference is like the GPAC. We've been battle-tested night in and night out and that was the key. ... You've got to match their physicality, otherwise it's going to be a long day for you."
"Our coaches do a great job of getting us prepared for big games like this," DWU junior guard Avery Broughton added. "Our scoring report was great for this game and even on a short turnaround going into (Saturday), we'll be prepared."
Lindsey Wilson had the look of what many national contenders have, with a decent amount of size among its players, plus skilled guards and balanced scoring. But DWU won the physicality and toughness battle early and seemed to take LWU out of its game for good.
DWU relatively got the looks they wanted and had a 16-2 edge for points in the paint in the first 10 minutes for a 20-4 lead.
With wins by margins of 28, 23 and 25 points in the first three rounds, DWU hasn't shown many signs of being nervous or afraid of the moment in the national tournament. On the other side of the bracket, the Tigers' conference rival Dordt is the only team that has blown out its opponents in a similar vein to DWU through three national tournament games.
Tigers' starter Broughton said she felt some nerves at the start of the game but those went away once the game started. The Tigers also had the benefit of having more than 500 DWU fans on hand to back them in a neutral venue.
"I just thought the energy was phenomenal. It was so fun. You could just feel it," Broughton said. "You look at that whole side, and it's packed with Dakota Wesleyan fans. That's just a phenomenal environment to play in."
DWU expects to see a similar profile in its Saturday quarterfinal opponent, taking on No. 1-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) at 6 p.m. They're skilled and have some size and have won their national tournament games by an average of 13 points.
The Tigers would love to bring the same national tournament recipe back to the Tyson on Saturday and keep this tournament run on the tracks.
"I told the kids, we've been on the big stage all year," Christensen said. "The Dordt (conference title) game was a big stage. We went to Hawaii. That was a big stage game. We got to host at the Corn Palace and those were big games. We've been in that situation before, so this is nothing different. Just go out and play and have fun."
Continue reading...
