Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University hosted the University of Jamestown on Saturday afternoon inside the Wikert Event Center in its opening game of the calendar year. The Warriors labored shooting the ball as they fell 74-50 to the Jimmies in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play.
In the opening quarter of play, Jamestown took control early as it scored the first three points of the contest. Midland responded with back-to-back buckets though, one from Jenna Weber and the other from Gabby Beauperthuy to take a one-point lead. That lead was short-lived as the Jimmies regained control with a three-pointer on their next trip down the court and never looked back.
They held a narrow advantage up to the 4:20 mark of the quarter when another three pushed their lead to 14-8. That sparked a 12-2 run to end the quarter. Jamestown took a 23-10 lead into the break behind 9-of-17 shooting, including four three-pointers while holding Midland to just 4-of-11 through the first 10 minutes.
In the second, the teams battled back and forth, matching each other’s scores. A 7-0 run by the visitors gave them their first 20-point lead at the 4:03 mark but the Warriors kept battling. Sparked by its bench, Midland went on a 6-2 run over the final two minutes, trailing 42-24 at the intermission.
Following the halftime break, the Warriors kept their group of mostly reserves in to start the third. Jamestown found its groove once more as it marched out to a 51-24 lead in the first five minutes. Weber broke the run with a pair of free throws. As the quarter progressed, the Jimmies grew their lead to 32 at one point and held a 62-33 advantage heading into the quarter.
With both teams playing their reserves, the final quarter went the way of the Warriors they outscored their guests 17-12. Carly Carstens played the entirety, scoring four points. Ellie Bovaird and Lexie Glosser also found the bottom of the net twice for four points while Delanie Tally had five points on a pair of shots.
For the game, Midland shot a frigid 17-of-53 (32.1%) from the field while Jamestown was 29-of-58 (50.0%) with 11 made three-pointers. The Warriors made just two of their 16 long-range attempts (12.5%) but won the turnover battle, forcing 17 Jimmies’ turnovers while committing just 12.
Sarah Shepard led the Warriors with 11 points while pulling down 4 rebounds. Gabby Beauperthuy, Ellie Bovaird, and Lexie Glosser all had six points as the next-highest scorer for MU. Asia Bryant tied for the team-high in rebounds with four while dishing out a team-best three assists.
“We weren’t very good in the first quarter, both defensively and offensively, and we dug a hole for ourselves. That’s a tough thing to do against Jamestown,” commented head coach Shawn Gilbert. “Hats off to Jamestown, they shot it really well and put us in a lot of bad spots all game. We struggle so much scoring the basketball that we’ve got to be so good defensively. We still have a lot of season left. We’ve still got three games on this side of the first half of conference play. We’ve got to start plugging away and pick up a win to start building our confidence.”
Next up for Midland (3-11, 0-8 GPAC) will be a midweek matchup with the College of Saint Mary (1-12, 0-8 GPAC). The teams will meet up on Wednesday night inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont. Tipoff of the single-game night is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
