Dakota Wesleyan Women and Northwestern Men win in GPAC playoff games Wednesday night

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -Dakota Wesleyan and Northwestern split Wednesday night’s basketball doubleheader in Orange City. But this wasn’t your normal GPAC twinbill. Both were post season playoff games that had the Tigers win the women’s game and and Red Raiders to men’s game.

WOMEN’S RECAP

Northwestern’s five-game winning streak came to an end in the quarterfinal round of the GPAC tournament on Wednesday, as Dakota Wesleyan won 80-68 on the road.The Tigers were the hot team from the start, leading the entire 40 minutes. They opened up a 9-0 lead, forcing a Red Raider timeout just two minutes in. Northwestern worked back to a four-point deficit twice in the first quarter, both off of made buckets for Molly Schany. Dakota Wesleyan took a 20-13 lead late in the quarter to earn the first draw.After the Raiders worked to keep the deficit at five, Dakota Wesleyan extended its lead to 12 points at the 6:53 mark of the second quarter. Northwestern did not retreat, however, battling back within two points at 34-32 on a Hali Anderson triple nearing the three-minute mark. Dakota Wesleyan countered, going on an 8-3 run in the final minutes to take a 42-35 lead into the break.The game remained close in the third, as the Raiders kept the deficit to single digits, moving as close as 52-48 on Schany’s layup with just under three in the period.With Northwestern trying to work ahead for the first time and Dakota Wesleyan attempting to expand the lead, it was the visiting Tigers who accomplished the feat. Northwestern gave one final push as Emily TerWee scored four of her six points in back-to-back possessions to come within five at the 7:42 mark of the fourth. However, the Tigers moved ahead by 14 on multiple occasions to advance to the second round of the conference tournament.

GAME NOTES

• Hali Anderson led all scorers with 26 points, her second game in a row with 20+ points.
• Molly Schany scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
• In her second game back in the lineup, Emily TerWee totaled six points and six rebounds.
• The Raiders won the rebounding battle 31-25.
• Dakota Wesleyan shot an efficient 55.8% from the field and were 18-for-21 from the charity stripe.

Up Next: The Raiders will await the NAIA selection show on Thursday, March 7 to learn of their postseason future.

MEN’S RECAP

Northwestern led for all but three minutes as the top-seeded Red Raider men’s basketball team took down Dakota Wesleyan to move on in the quarterfinals of the GPAC tournament.”Our guys were focused,” head coach Kris Korver commented. “They were locked in and ready for the challenge tonight.”Alex Van Kalsbeek knocked down a free throw late in the first half to become the eighth Raider to reach 2,000 career points, while Conner Geddes netted a season-high 22 points.”I thought Conner played a great game for us,” Korver noted. “He and Kaleb [Booth] stepped up with Dillon being under the weather and out of the lineup tonight.”After the Tigers took an early lead through the first two minutes, Kaleb Booth put the Raiders ahead for good with a triple to make the score 7-5 with 17:54 on the clock. As he did many times this evening, Geddes knocked down a three to give Northwestern its first double-digit advantage, leading 17-7 at the 13:31 mark. Dakota Wesleyan dwindled the deficit to just six points with 3:09 until halftime, but Geddes responded again with threes on consecutive possessions to give Northwestern a 39-27 halftime lead.The first nine minutes out of the break were kind to the Raiders, making the game feel in-hand, scoring 18 of the next 24 points and ending with a tip-in from Keyton Moser to make the score 58-33. Northwestern then took its largest lead of the night at 64-37 on Marcus Kelderman’s drive to the dish, but Dakota Wesleyan still fought to the end, seeing their season end and the Raiders advance in a 78-65 decision.

GAME NOTES

• Alex Van Kalsbeek scored his 2,000th career point, tallying 19 points tonight.
• Conner Geddes added a season-high 22 points.
• Kaleb Booth notched his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
• Zach LaFave put up 10 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
• The Raiders made 11 threes, shooting 47.8% from beyond the arc.
• Northwestern shot 51.7% to Dakota Wesleyan’s 33.8%.

Up Next: The Raiders will host Morningside on Saturday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m. in the Bultman Center.

Game recaps courtesy Northwestern Athletics

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