Courtesy of Midland Athletics
YANKTON, S.D. – Midland University made the return trip to face Mount Marty University on Wednesday night. The teams completed their Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) series inside Cimpl Arena in Yankton. The Warriors completed the season sweep as they out-jousted the Lancers, 80-72.
After giving up the initial basket of the game, Midland got on the board as Sarah Shepard hit a three-pointer to take back the lead early. Mount Marty countered with four straight points and held a slight advantage for most of the first five minutes. With 4:47 to go though, Jenna Weber converted a traditional three-point play, making a layup and the ensuing free throw to put the Warriors up 11-10.
As the quarter progressed, the lead would change twice more. Midland took the lead last as Kennedy Darner made a two-point jumper and then Aryannah Harrison drove the lane for a layup, making the score 20-16 as the first quarter came to a close.
The second quarter saw the Lancers charge back to grab the lead as they scored the first five points, 21-20. That started a trend of lead changes with six more flips on the scoreboard before the halftime buzzer. The Warriors held a 28-24 lead most for a large portion of the quarter before another surge by the home team.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Mount Marty drew the game to a 30-30 tie with 3:00 on the clock. They would take the lead late with another shot behind the arc and held a 36-34 advantage as the teams went to the locker rooms.
Following the break, the script stayed the same with three lead changes in the opening minutes. Sarah Shepard gave Midland a 39-38 edge with 8:50 on the clock. The layup would prove to be the final change in leads as the Warriors went on to outscore the Lancers 18 to 8 the rest of the quarter.
Gabby Beauperthuy hit all three of her shots in the quarter, including a pair of three-pointers for eight points. Sarah Shepard had six points in the period as Midland went 10-for-15 as a team.
In the final quarter of action, the Lancers worked the lead to single digits as they mounted a comeback. They drew within eight points with 4:15 left and then narrowed it to just two possessions, 73-68, as time dipped under two minutes.
Down the stretch, the Warriors were able to escape the defense. Weber hit a three with just over a minute to go and then a layup by Sarah Shepard and free throws by Emma Shepard iced the game for the visitors as they spoiled senior night for the Lancers. A last-second layup by Mount Marty made the final score 80-72.
Weber led the way for the Warriors as she scored a career-best 23 points. Gabby Beauperthuy and Sarah Shepard each had 16 points while Aryannah Harrison scored 12 points off the bench.
Statistically, the two sides were fairly even with Midland holding a slight advantage from behind the arc. The Warriors were 8-of-27 while the Lancers finished 6-of-27. Mount Marty held a big advantage in the paint, outscoring Midland 42 to 28.
Midland (7-20, 4-17 GPAC) will wrap up the season this Saturday when it travels to take on No. 7 Concordia (22-5, 16-5 GPAC). Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. inside Friedrich Arena in Seward, Nebraska.
