Perimeter shooting, board work key Morningside

SEWARD, NEB. – A traditionally close-knit Great Plains Athletic Conference series didn't disappoint Wednesday, Jan. 19.

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' No. 8-ranked Morningside University and No. 19-ranked Concordia University gave the fans on hand at CU's Friedberg Arena in the Walz Human Performance Center their money's worth and more. The 44^th chapter of the Mustangs-Bulldogs set needed an extra session that featured a 10-0 run to send the visitors to an eighth straight victory by a 68-62 count.

The difference towards keeping head coach Jamie Sale's squad two games in front on the loop standings was three-point shooting and hard-nosed rebounding. Morningside drained 13 treys with the upperclasswoman duo of senior guard Sierra Mitchell (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) junior guard McKenna Sims (South Sioux City, Neb.) hitting four apiece. The final glass-cleaning totals were just as impressive, as Sale's charges tallied 49 boards, tying a single-game season high. Sims compiled 12 to spotlight a double-double. Sophomore guard Alexis Spier (Gretna, Neb.), coming off a career single-game personal best 33-point outing against Doane University Jan. 15, checked off another career single-game personal-best box with 15 rebounds, the most in a game for Mside since November 2019. 

Several other pluses helped lead to the win. Senior forward Sophia Peppers (Exira, Iowa) finished with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, and two steals. Sophomore forward/center Chloe Lofstrom (Armstrong, Iowa) produced 10 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Lauren Hedlund (Albion, Iowa) was nearly perfect shooting wise off the bench, scoring seven points by hitting on two of three overall attempts, going one-for-one from outside the arc, and two-for-two at the free-throw line.

Morningside (16-3 overall, 12-1 GPAC) continues a two-game road trip Saturday, Jan. 22. Game time against Mount Marty University at Laddie E. Cimpl Arena in Yankton, S.D., is 2 p.m.