Mustangs
dominate league opener
Posted
12/3/07 8:33 AM
Katie Manning |
CEDAR RAPIDS,
Iowa -- After a month on the road, the Mount Mercy College women's
basketball team made a smashing home debut on Sunday, dominating
NAIA Division II 18th-ranked Iowa Wesleyan College, 72-49, in
a Midwest Collegiate Conference opener at Hennessey Recreation
Center.
The Mustangs
opened the season with six straight games away from home. In fact,
the last time Mount Mercy played at Hennessey, it was against
Iowa Wesleyan in the championship game of the 2007 MCC Tournament
in February. The Tigers won, 64-58, to advance to the NAIA Division
II national tournament. Sunday's contest went a little differently.
Mount Mercy
never trailed and led by double digits much of the way. After
building a 34-25 halftime lead, the Mustangs (3-4, 1-0 MCC) outscored
the Tigers (5-4, 0-1 MCC), 38-24, in the second period. Mount
Mercy shot 50 percent from the field (28-of-56), including 7-of-16
from 3-point range, while limiting Iowa Wesleyan to 40 percent
shooting overall and just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Junior forward
Katie Manning scored a game-high 18 points, surpassing her previous
career-best of 16 points in Monday's loss at eighth-ranked Morningside
College. Junior guard Jessie Dirks added 15 points, senior forward
Addie McCreedy 10. McCreedy also led the Mustangs with six rebounds.
Junior guards Kelli Dabroski and Emily Duffy had five assists
apiece and Dirks finished with three steals.
Ali DeVries
and Kayleigh Epps, Iowa Wesleyan's leading scorers this season
at nearly 17 points per game, were held to a combined total of
seven points. All of those came from DeVries. Rachel Mitchell's
13 points and game-high six assists led the Tigers. Brooke Newton
posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Mount Mercy
is back on the road this week, beginning with a non-conference
tilt at Cornell College on Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Mount Vernon,
Iowa. The Mustangs travel to Winona, Minn., to take on NCAA Division
II Winona State University (Minn.) on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. They
finish up the week against intra-city rival Coe College on Saturday
at 6:00 p.m. at Eby Fieldhouse in Cedar Rapids.
