Saturday, December 3, 2022
FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University took the court inside the Wikert Event Center on Saturday afternoon in a matchup with No. 5 Dordt University. After a hard-fought battle in the first half, the Warriors came up short in the second, falling 63-84 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) battle. With the results, Midland’s record falls to 2-7 overall and 0-5 in the conference.
The Warriors jumped out early with a three-pointer by Rubie Klausen to open the game’s scoring and a layup from Kennedy Darner. They were able to build upon their momentum in the first, leading throughout the opening 10 minutes.
In the second, the Defenders fired back with a 5-0 run of their own to give them their first lead. The advantage would teeter back and forth before a 7-0 run put Dordt up 33-27 midway through the second quarter. Midland battled back and trailed by just one, 36-37, at halftime.
After the intermission, the Defenders scored six unanswered points to give them separation on the scoreboard. The Warriors didn’t go away as they battle back to a 46-point tie following a layup from Erin Prusa with 4:12 left in the quarter. Over the final three minutes though, Dordt put distance between the two teams once more with an 8-0 run. Heading into the final quarter, they held a 59-51 lead.
In the final 10 minutes, the Defenders turned up the heat gradually building their lead up to the final margin for the 84-63 win.
Leading the Warriors in scoring was Prusa 14. She was followed by Kennedy Darner and Emma Shepard with 11 points each, while Sam Shepard reached double figures with 10. Prusa also led Midland with seven rebounds and five assists.
For the game, the Warriors shot 21-of-50 (42%) while the Defenders shot a blistering 30-for-57 (53%). Dordt held a substantial lead in second-chance points, 14-4, and scored 14 points off of 13 Midland turnovers.
Midland (2-7, 0-5 GPAC) will be back in action in the Wikert Event Center next week, hosting Hastings (5-4, 3-2 GPAC). The conference matchup will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7 in Fremont.
