December 30, 2014

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Dakota State University Lady T's basketball team faced their fourth straight opponent from the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tuesday evening at the RSVC-Allee Gym, visiting top-ranked Morningside (Iowa) in their own home classic.  After the Lady T's cut MC lead by seven points in the second-half, the Mustangs pulled away for a 79-54 victory.

Dakota State lost their fourth straight game and fell to 6-7 overall record.  Morningside remained undefeated in 17 games this season (17-0).

DSU opened up with a 10-4 lead, but MC answered back with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 10-10 with fourteen minutes and forty-six seconds on the clock in the first-half.

Tied at 12-12, the Mustangs went on a 16-4 run to earn a double-digit lead at 28-16 with less than nine minutes left before halftime.

Morningside maintained a 43-32 halftime lead over the Lady T's.

Dakota State used another fast start to start the second-half with an 8-4 scoring run to trim MC's lead to 47-40 with less than 18 minutes remaining in the game.

At 49-42, the Mustangs sealed the victory by outscoring the Lady T's 30-12 in the final 17:02 of the game.

Madison Walford (FR/Devils Lake, N.D.) led Dakota State with 17 points.  She was 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.  Erin Rabenberg (SR/Glenham, S.D.) added 10 points.  Sharee Galbraith (JR/Winner, S.D.) scored eight points.  Courtney Hulstein (JR/Fulda, Minn.) and BreeAna Olson (SO/Nunda, S.D.) each added seven points.

Walford pulled down eight rebounds for the Lady T's.  Rabenberg and Olson each recorded four rebounds.

Walford and Kennedy Wagner (FR/Chamberlain, S.D.) each produced three assists for DSU.  Wagner stole the ball three times.

Walford and Galbraith each had two blocked shots for Dakota State.

Jessica Tietz scored 23 points off the bench for the Mustangs.  She was 10-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.  Lexi Ackerman and Jordyn Wollenburg each added 13 points. 

Tietz earned eight rebounds for Morningside.  Ashlynn Muhl added six rebounds.

Madison Braun dished out five assists for MC.  Taylor Bahensky and Tietz each recorded three steals.

Morningside shot 53.2 percent from the field (33-of-62) compared to the Lady T's 38.5 percent (20-of-52). 

DSU was 9-of-12 at the free-throw line (75 percent) while MC struggled by making 9 free-throws in 19 attempts (47.4 percent).

MC outrebounded DSU 37-32.

Dakota State looks to start the 2015 year on a winning note as they continue their action on the road.  The Lady T's travel to Iowa for a pair of games, making their first stop in Cedar Rapids Friday evening.  DSU visits Mount Mercy (Iowa) with a tip-off starting at 6 p.m.  The game will be held at the Hennessey Rec Center.

On Saturday, the Lady T's travel to Des Moines, Iowa to play a non-conference game at AIB (Iowa).  The game is slated for 2 p.m. at the AIB Activities Center.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director