SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside University put three starters in double figures Saturday, Jan. 15, but it wasn’t enough to ensure wrapping up an unbeaten Great Plains Athletic Conference week.
The triumvirate of senior center Trey Brown (Gretna, Neb.), senior guard Zach Imig (Gretna, Neb.), and junior guard Will Pottebaum (LeMars, Iowa) all registered 10-or-more points during an extra-session thriller at Allee Gymnasium of the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center. Brown topped the group with 14 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot; Imig added 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal; Pottebaum finished with 11 points and three boards.
Coupled with a bench effort of 20 points, each of those superlatives left head coach Trent Miller’s team a point short in a challenging 72-71 loss to start the second half of conference play. Mside appeared on the verge of the victory, leading 57-46 with just over seven minutes to play in regulation, but the visiting Tigers of Doane University, as has been the case during the 2021-22 campaign, stayed the course with a 16-5 rally to send the game into overtime. Both sides held slight advantages in overtime before Imig drained a three-pointer with 19 seconds left only to be countered by DU sophomore center Josiah Gardiner hitting a fadeaway bucket as the clock ran out for the game-winner.
Mside (10-6 overall, 7-4 GPAC) travels to Seward, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 19, for a 7:45 p.m. clash with Concordia University.
SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The setting couldn’t have been more appropriate.
As she has done so many times in a Mustangs uniform, Morningside University senior guard Sierra Mitchell (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) took a pass on the wing, settled her feet, and let a three-point shot attempt fly. And, with 7:15 remaining in the first half of the Great Plains Athletic Association match-up at Allee Gymnasium of the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center, the twine tinkled ever so gently with three more points — each of which made program history.
With the first of five made treys during a 101-69 win over Doane University Saturday, Jan. 15, Mitchell’s indelible mark on Mside women’s basketball history became even more profound, surpassing former all-time leading scorer Amy (Wilhelm) Lefler’s mark of 2,332. At day’s end, Mitchell reached 2,348 career points.
If the festive mood of a seventh straight triumph for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ No. 8-ranked squad wasn’t enough with Mitchell’s milestone marker passing, sophomore guard Alexis Spier (Gretna, Neb.) added to it. Behind a red-hot start in the opening 20 minutes where she scored 20 points, Spier put together a memorable afternoon resume. She tallied 33 points on 13-of-18 overall field goal shooting, which was sparked by hitting on seven of 10 three-point baskets. Her first career starting opportunity positives didn’t end there, either. Spier also dished out six assists, picked up four steals, and grabbed four rebounds.
Senior guard Madison Clayton (Sioux City, Iowa) and sophomore forward/center Chloe Lofstrom (Armstrong, Iowa) also found themselves in double-figure territory. Clayton came off the bench to tally 13 points and six rebounds. Lofstrom patrolled the paint to the tune of 12 points, ten rebounds, and a blocked shot.
Morningside (15-3 overall, 11-1 GPAC) returns to the road for a trip to Seward, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 19. Game time at Concordia University’s Walz Human Performance Center is 6 p.m.
