Warriors Hold Off Pesky Lancers; Complete Season Sweep

FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University’s women’s basketball team was able to hold onto an early lead to pull out a win against Mount Marty University, with a final score of 70-64 on Wednesday night.
The Warriors got off to a hot start from behind the arch shooting 3-of-5, giving them a quick eight-point lead. Mount Marty responded with a few buckets of their own, cutting down Midland’s lead to three. A layup from Emma Shepard allowed the Warriors to regain a five-point margin after one quarter of play, 16-11.
The Lancers went on another quick run to start the second quarter, pulling within two points. Midland found an answer again, going on a 9-0 run to make it an 11-point game, which would be their largest lead of the night. Seven of the nine points during the stretch came from Peyton Wingert. Midland cruised into halftime with a comfortable 34-27 lead.
Mount Marty came out of the break and hit a three-pointer than a jump shot to pull back into the game, down just two points, 34-32.
Makenna Sullivan converted a traditional three-point play for Midland followed by a Lexi Kraft long-range three to make a six-point Midland lead.
Every time the Warriors tried to extend their lead, the Lancers had a response. Midland would lead 51-47 heading into the final quarter.
A minute into the fourth quarter, after Mount Marty pulled within one point, the teams went ice-cold offensively with the next point not coming until the 5:40 mark. That’s when Lexis Haase went on a personal six-point run for Midland.
After a pair of layups by both teams, Mount Marty went on a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game with 2:24 remaining.
Haase would respond for Midland with a clutch three-pointer to extend the lead to two possessions once more. The Lancers would covert on back-to-back layups, with a Wingert layup sandwiched in between.
With 11 seconds left, Kraft would hit a pair of free throws to make it a four-point lead and then Emma Shepard sealed the victory with a steal and layup in the final seconds.
The Warriors’ defense was a big factor in the win, forcing the Lancers into 17 turnovers compared to just 11 turnovers by Midland.
Wingert led all scorers for Midland with 21 points. She made eight field goals, tying a season-high. Haase finished with 17 points and Shepard had 13 points off the bench.
Midland (13-8, 10-8 GPAC) will have a quick turnaround as they host (RV) Northwestern (12-8, 12-5 GPAC) on Saturday. They’ll tipoff with the Raiders at 2:00 p.m. inside Wikert Event Center on January 30. The Warriors won the first meeting of the season, 80-74, on November 21, 2020.