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All four of the record breaking performances revolved around free throw shooting. The Mustangs converted 482 of 638 attempts from the foul line this season for a school-record 75.5 percent to edge the former school standard of 75.4 percent during the 1996-97 campaign. The Mustangs twice went 18-for-18 from the foul line in an 89-74 victory against Concordia University on Nov. 20 and in a 94-79 victory against city rival Briar Cliff University on Jan. 8.

Chelsie Trask, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Rockford, Iowa, broke two individual records. She went 14-for-14 from the foul line in the Mustangs’ Nov. 20 victory against Concordia to top the former Morningside single-game standard of 11-for-11 by Sue Berens against Dordt College during the 1980-81 campaign. Trask made a school-record 43 consecutive free throw attempts during a stretch from Nov. 6 to Dec. 18 to break the Mustangs’ former record of 25 consecutive made free throws by Kate Lokken during the 2001-02 season and by Megan Cloud in the 2004-05 campaign.

Trask was the Mustangs’ most prolific and accurate free throw shooter with a team-high 128 free throws in 152 attempts for 84.2 percent en route to a 13.3-point scoring average. She had the Mustangs’ top individual rebounding performance of the season with a career-high 14 caroms in a 79-63 win against Concordia on Feb. 12.

Trask has scored 825 points in two seasons with the Mustangs to move her into 31st place on Morningside’s all-time scoring list.

The Mustangs’ leading scorer was Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 senior guard from Sioux City, who scored 562 points for an average of 16.1 points per game. Worden had the Mustangs’ top individual scoring performance of the season with 33 points in a 90-79 double overtime triumph against Grand View University on Nov. 2. She was the Mustangs’ leading scorer in 16 of their 35 contests, including each of the last six games of the season and in eight of the team’s final nine contests. Worden made a team-high 202 field goals in 481 attempts for 42.0 percent and a team-high 66 3-point field goals in 186 attempts for 35.5 percent.

Aside from leading the Mustangs in scoring, Worden also topped the Mustangs with 151 assists and 97 steals for averages of 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals per contest. She had season’s highs of eight assists in games against Iowa Wesleyan College and Briar Cliff and seven steals against Indiana University Northwest.

Worden scored 1,148 points in two seasons with the Mustangs to finish her career as the 18th leading scorer in Morningside history.

Emily Christen, a 6-1 senior forward from Anselmo, Neb., was the Mustangs’ leading rebounder with 246 rebounds for an average of 7.0 caroms per game and with 44 blocked shots for an average of 1.3 rejections per game to compliment a 10.4-point scoring average. She was the team’s leading rebounder in 19 of their 35 contests. Christen also topped the Mustangs in field goal accuracy with 148 field goals in 295 attempts for 50.2 percent.

Shelby Beaudette, a 5-7 sophomore guard from Walthill, Neb., led the Mustangs in 3-point field goal percentage with 61 treys in 160 attempts for 38.1 percent en route to a scoring average of 9.5 points per game.

Brittany Alfredson, a 5-11 junior guard from Moville, Iowa, averaged 7.0 rebounds per game over the last 15 games of the season to finish the campaign as the Mustangs’ second leading rebounder with an average of 5.9 caroms per game.

Alfredson moved into 35th place on Morningside’s all-time rebounding list with 319 career rebounds.

Morningside posted a 29-6 record during the 2010-11 season for its eighth consecutive 20-win season and made its ninth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Mustangs have a 240-47 record for a .836 winning percentage over the last eight seasons and were NAIA Division II National Champions in 2004, 2005, and 2009.

Worden A First-Team All-American


Tanaeya Worden	Chelsie Trask

Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 senior guard from Sioux City, is a first-team selection on the 2011 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball All-America Team announced Wednesday.

In addition to Worden, the Mustangs’ Chelsie Trask, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Rockford, Iowa, was named to the All-America honorable mention list.

Worden, a second-team All-American last year, was the Mustangs’ leading scorer this season with an average of 16.1 points per game. Worden went on a scoring tear when she led the Mustangs in scoring in each of their last six games of the season. She averaged 22.2 points per game over the final six contests, including 30-point outbursts against the University of Sioux Falls in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) post-season tournament semifinals and against Tennessee Wesleyan College in the second round of the State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship tournament. Worden scored a career-high 33 points in the season opener against Grand View University for the Mustangs’ top single-game scoring performance of the season.

Aside from leading the Mustangs in scoring, Worden also topped the team with 151 assists and 97 steals for averages of 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game. She made a team-high 66 3-point field goals in 186 attempts for 35.5 percent. Worden made 202 of 481 overall field goal attempts for 42.0 percent and converted 92 of 114 free throw attempts for 80.7 percent.

Worden, who joined the Mustangs last year as a transfer from Christian Brothers University, scored 1,148 points during her two-year Morningside career for the 18th highest total in school history.

Trask was the Mustangs’ second leading scorer with an average of 13.3 points per game to compliment a norm of 3.6 rebounds per contest. She had the Mustangs’ top single-game rebounding performance of the season with a career-high 14 rebounds in a 79-63 triumph against Concordia University on Feb. 12. Trask was the Mustangs’ best free throw shooter with 128 free throws in 152 attempts for 84.2 percent. She made a school-record 43 consecutive free throw attempts from Nov. 6 to Dec. 18 and set a school single-game record for free throw accuracy when she went 14-for-14 in an 89-74 win against Concordia on Nov. 20. Trask made 141 of 335 field goal attempts for 42.1 percent and 57 of 158 3-point field goal attempts for 36.1 percent. She had 63 steals and 57 assists.

Trask has scored 825 points during her two-year career to put her in 31st place on Morningside’s all-time scoring list.

Morningside posted a 29-6 record during the 2010-11 season and reached the semifinals of the State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship tournament. The Mustangs, who were ranked third nationally in the final NAIA II poll, were the Great Plains Athletic Conference runner-up with a 15-3 record in league play. Morningside has a 240-47 record for a .836 winning percentage over the past eight seasons and won NAIA II National Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2009.

Click here for the complete 2011 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball All-America Team.

Worden And Christen Named To All-Tournament Team


Tanaeya Worden	Emily Christen

Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 senior guard from Sioux City, and Emily Christen, a 6-1 senior forward from Anselmo, Neb., were each named to the all-tournament team at the 2011 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship.

Worden was named to the first-team and Christen was named to the second-team. They helped lead the Mustangs to the Final Four, where they lost an 86-81 thriller against eventual National Champion Northwestern College in Monday’s semifinals.

Worden averaged 23.0 points and 4.0 steals per game in the Mustangs’ four national tournament contests and was their leading scorer in each game with 25 points against Indiana University Northwest, 30 points against Tennessee Wesleyan College, 18 points against the University of Sioux Falls, and 19 points against Northwestern.

Christen averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game at the national tournament. She led the Mustangs with career highs of five assists and five blocked shots in their semifinal loss against Northwestern.

Morningside finished the season with a 29-6 record and made its fifth NAIA II Final Four appearance in the last eight years.

Mustang Season Ends In National Semifinals


Tanaeya Worden	Emily Christen

Third-ranked Morningside gave GPAC regular season and post-season tournament champion Northwestern College a mighty scare before the second-ranked Red Raiders pulled out an 86-81 victory in Monday’s semifinals of the State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

Northwestern, 34-1, will try to avenge its only loss of the season when it meets undefeated and No. 1-ranked Davenport University, 37-0, in Tuesday’s National Championship Game.

Morningside, which bowed out at 29-6, lost against Northwestern for the fourth time this season. Monday’s meeting was the most competitive after the Mustangs had lost by a double figure margin in all three of the prior meetings.

For much of the game it looked like the Mustangs might move on for a chance to play for their fourth NAIA II National Championship in the last eight years, especially after Chelsie Trask found nothing but net on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Mustangs an 81-80 lead with 52.9 seconds left.

Northwestern made the plays downs the stretch, however, by going six-for-six from the foul line over the final 23.5 seconds, while the Mustangs turned the ball over on two of their final three possessions.

Morningside All-American Tanaeya Worden scored a game-high 19 points in her Mustang finale to finish her brilliant two-year career with 1,148 career points. Trask finished right behind with 18 points and Emily Christen had 13. Shelby Beaudette and Brittany Alfredson were just shy of double figures with nine tallies each.

Christen added career-high totals of five assists and five blocked shots to lead the Mustangs in both categories and she also had six rebounds to share team honors with Beaudette. Alfredson led all performers with three steals.

Becca Hurley and Kendra De Jong shared Northwestern scoring honors with 17 points. They were joined in double figures by Kami Kuhlmann with 15 and Allison Hulst with 12.

Scoring was a struggle for Hurley for much of the night, as the two-time first-team All-American and 2011 National Player of the Year contender suffered through an off-night shooting with just four field goals in 18 attempts. Still, she just missed a triple-double with game-high totals of 10 rebounds and eight assists.

DeJong, who averaged 19 points and 14 rebounds in the three prior meetings between the two teams, did not play in the final 12 minutes of the game after she left with an injury, putting her status for Tuesday’s title game in jeopardy.

Hurley’s 10 rebounds led the Red Raiders to a 44-38 advantage on the boards. The Red Raiders, who were outrebounded 19-16 in the first half, outboarded the Mustangs by a 28-19 margin over the final 20 minutes. Free throw shooting was the other glaring disparity between the two teams, as Northwestern converted 17 of 19 attempts, all of them in the second half, compared to a 15-for-24 effort for the Mustangs.

Morningside led 42-40 at the intermission and the second half was just as tight when no more than six points ever separated the two teams. The Mustangs led for most of the first 10 minutes of the second half and took a 59-54 lead on a basket by Worden with 14:12 left in the game.

Northwestern went on a 16-5 scoring run over the next five minutes and took its biggest lead of the game when Kuhlmann capped the run with a 3-pointer from the baseline to put the Red Raiders up 70-64 with 9:16 left. Northwestern still led by six points, 72-66, at the eight-minute mark before Beaudette and Christen led a 10-4 Morningside run that saw the Mustangs tie the score at 76-76 on a free throw by Christen with 3:19 remaining.

The Mustangs took their final lead when Trask’s 3-pointer gave the Mustangs their 81-80 edge with 52.9 seconds left. Northwestern took the lead for good when Hurley made both ends of a two-shot foul to put the Red Raiders up 82-81 with 23.5 seconds left, and she made two more shot from the line 13 seconds later to make it 84-81.

Northwestern shot a sizzling 60.0 percent from the field in the first half, but found itself down 42-40 at the intermission.

The lead changed hands 10 times in the opening nine minutes before Northwestern opened a 25-21 advantage with 10:30 left in the half. Morningside then reeled off nine points in a row to go up 30-25 after Trask made a basket with 6:20 left. It ultimately became a 16-4 Morningside run when Alfredson scored from inside to give the Mustangs their largest lead of the half at 37-29 with 3:41 left.

Kuhlmann took over and scored seven of the points during a 9-1 Red Raider run that saw them tie the score at 38-38 when Hulst drove in for a score with 54 seconds left. The score was tied at 40-40 before Alfredson scored off an assist from Christen with 4.8 seconds left to put the Mustangs in front 42-40 at the break.

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Mustangs Advance To Final Four After 72-70 Thriller


Emily Christen	Brittany Alfredson

Third-ranked Morningside advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship by winning a 72-70 thriller against Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) rival University of Sioux Falls in Saturday evening’s quarterfinals.

Next up for Morningside is an 8 p.m. date with No. 2 Northwestern College in Monday’s semifinals. The Mustangs hope the fourth time will be their charm after three previous losses against the Red Raiders, including an 84-74 loss on March 1 in the GPAC’s post-season tournament championship game. Morningside is riding a late season surge with 14 triumphs in its last 16 games to climb to 29-5 going into the national semifinals. Both losses came at the hands of the once-beaten Red Raiders, who punched their semifinal ticket with a 79-58 win against seventh-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University.

No. 1 Davenport University will face No. 4 Walsh University in Monday’s other semifinal to complete a Final Four that played out to form. Morningside is in the Final Four for the fifth time in the last eight years. The Mustangs emerged as NAIA II National Champions on three of their previous four Final Four appearances.

Tanaeya Worden scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Mustangs in scoring for the fifth game in a row. Emily Christen was next with 15 tallies, including an impressive 12-point first half, while Brittany Alfredson and Shelby Beaudette also made double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Chelsie Trask just missed double figures with nine points.

Alfredson gave the Mustangs a huge performance on the boards with a game-high 12 rebounds to finish one shy of her career high, which came against the Cougars in the GPAC post-season tournament semifinals. Alfredson also led the Mustangs with five assists, while Worden led all performers with four steals.

Sioux Falls outrebounded the Mustangs 42-35 despite Alfredson’s board exploits.

Elizabeth Hildreth led sixth-ranked Sioux Falls with 16 points and was joined in double figures by Holli Aggen and Baileigh O’Brien with 11 and Chelsa Baxa with 10.

The Mustangs had won two of three previous meetings with the Cougars this season and appeared on the verge of running them out of the gym when they opened a 31-15 lead with 8:30 left in the first half, but Sioux Falls gained all but five of the points back to trail 39-34 at the half.

Christen led the Mustangs with 12 points at the break and scored eight of the Mustangs’ first 11 points of the contest. Sioux Falls was impressive at the start as well and grabbed an early 9-7 lead. Morningside responded by reeling off nine unanswered points to trigger a 24-6 run that was capped by a Brittany Alfredson free throw at the 8:30 mark that gave the Mustangs a 31-15 advantage for the biggest difference in the game.

Sioux Falls refused to go away and went on a 16-3 run of its own to close within 34-31 when Laura Johnson made a 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the half. Morningside’s Trask and the Cougars’ O’Brien traded 3-pointers before a pair of Beaudette free throws with 1:04 left made it a five-point game at the break.

The Cougars survived another potential knockout blow in the second half when Morningside went ahead by 12 points, 55-43, on a basket by Kalene Anderson with 13:05 left in the game. Hildreth scored nine of her points in the next eight minutes during a 15-5 Sioux Falls run that saw the Cougars close within 60-58 on a basket by Hildreth with 5:15 left.

The charge didn’t end there, however, and it eventually became a 24-8 Cougar run when Baxa struck from 3-point range to put Sioux Falls ahead 67-63 with 2:34 left.

With the season in jeopardy, it was the Mustangs who ultimately picked themselves off the canvas. Morningside worked the ball inside to Christen for a three-point play to close within one and took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Worden to go up 68-67 with 1:55 left.

Worden then made one of the biggest plays of the game when she stripped the ball from first-team All-GPAC performer Jamey Hofer in the paint and dribbled coast-to-coast for a layup that put the Mustangs in front 70-67 with 1:33 left.

Sioux Falls closed within 70-69 on a basket by Aggen with 12:07 left before Beaudette sank both ends of a crucial one-and-one with 15.7 seconds left to make it 72-69.

Hofer made the front end of a two-shot foul with 1.7 seconds left to make it a two-point game, but Christen preserved the victory when she came down with the rebound after Hofer missed the second shot in a finish that was eerily similar to the first time the teams met this season. In that one, Worden intentionally missed a free throw and Christen grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Trask for a game-winning three-pointer with four seconds left in a 62-61 Morningside triumph on Dec. 1 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

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Worden Scores 30 To Help Put Mustangs In The NAIA Quarterfinals


Tanaeya Worden	Shelby Beaudette

Morningside’s Tanaeya Worden is definitely showcasing her talents on the biggest stage.

One night after she scored a game-high 25 points in an opening round triumph against Indiana University Northwest, Worden poured in 30 more to lead the Mustangs to an 80-67 triumph against Tennessee Wesleyan University in Friday’s second round of the State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

Morningside’s 80 points was the second highest total Tennessee Wesleyan surrendered all season after it had held 28 of its previous 33 opponents to scoring totals under 70 points. The Mustangs’ victory snapped the Bulldogs’ 22-game winning streak.

The third-ranked Mustangs are in the NAIA II Quarterfinals for the fifth time in the last eight years and will face either Daemen College or Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) rival University of Sioux Falls in an 8 p.m. Saturday contest. Morningside has reeled off 13 victories in its last 15 games to climb to 28-5 on the season.

Worden made 10 of 17 floor shots, including four of nine shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and converted six of seven free throw attempts against Tennessee Wesleyan en route to the third highest single-game scoring performance of her Morningside career. She has scored 20 points or more 22 times in her two-year career and Friday’s 30-point salvo raised her career total to 1,111 points. Aside from her game-high 30 points, Worden also led all performers with five steals and had five rebounds to finish one shy of her career high.

Worden’s late season scoring surge actually began during the GPAC’s post-season tournament when she had 30 points in the semifinals against Sioux Falls and 21 in a title game loss against No. 2 Northwestern College. She has been the Mustangs’ leading scorer in each of the last four games and has averaged 26.5 points per game in doing so.

Worden wasn’t the only Mustang player to make a solid offensive showing against Tennessee Wesleyan. Shelby Beaudette chipped in with 13 points, making five of nine floor shots, including a pair of pivotal second half 3-pointers, and Emily Christen also finished in double figures with 11 tallies to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Brittany Alfredson added nine points behind a near perfect shooting performance and Leann Osten led the Mustangs’ reserves with nine points to finish just one off her season’s high. Alfredson made both of her field goal attempts and converted five of six attempts from the foul line.

Heather Gibson and Amy Jo Castor, who each earned first-team All-Appalachian Athletic Conference honors while helping the Bulldogs go undefeated en route to the league title, scored 21 and 16 points, respectively, to pace Tennessee Wesleyan, which closed the books on a 30-4 campaign.

Gibson added a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a 40-34 advantage on the boards. Christen paced Morningside with six rebounds, while Worden and Chelsie Trask were right behind with five caroms each.

Worden was at her best in the first half when the All-American scored 20 of the Mustangs’ first 31 points, including their first eight tallies of the game, to help Morningside take an early 8-2 lead.

The Bulldogs came right back behind seven points from Castor and went up 11-8 when she nailed a 3-pointer with 13:21 left in the opening half. Cody Houck then got hot for Tennessee Wesleyan and made a pair of 3-pointers, the second one at the 9:52 mark, to put the Bulldogs ahead 22-15 for their largest lead of the game.

Sparked by 12 points by Worden, the Mustangs took off on a 21-4 run to take a 36-26 lead when Emily Christen scored with 2:02 left in the half. The Mustangs eventually pushed their lead to 11 points, 39-28, when Beaudette struck from 3-point range with 1:09 left in the half.

The Bulldogs used 3-pointers by Castor and Houck to rally within 39-34 by the intermission and closed within two points, 39-37, when Heather Gibson scored from 3-point range at the 18:24 mark of the second half.

Tennessee Wesleyan crept within one point, 43-42, when Brittany Steen struck from 3-point range with 16:37 left in the game. The Mustangs pushed their lead back into double figures when a 3-pointer by Trask put them up 55-44 with 13:13 left.

The Bulldogs made one final surge and closed within 66-60 before the Mustangs finally put their opponent away with a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Worden that put the Mustangs up by 15 points, 75-60, with 2:33 left for the biggest differential of the game.

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Mustangs Advance To Second Round Of National Tourney


Tanaeya Worden	Chelsie Trask

Morningside survived an upset scare from unranked Indiana University Northwest and advanced to the second round of the State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship with a 76-61 victory on Thursday in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

The Mustangs, the third ranked team in the nation and the No. 1 seed in their eight-team bracket, will take a 27-5 record into Friday’s 7 p.m. second round contest against 14th-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan University. The Bulldogs won their opening round game 65-60 against No. 18 Iowa Wesleyan College. The surging Mustangs, who have won three NAIA II national titles in the last seven years, won for the 12th time in their last 14 games and improved their all-time record in NAIA national tournament play to 22-6.

Morningside advanced past the opening round of the national tournament for the ninth year in a row, but the victory came much more difficult than some expected against an eighth-seeded RedHawk team that had bowed out 100-47 against eventual National Champion Northwestern College in last year’s opening round.

The Mustangs had some anxious moments when they trailed 43-41 with 14:44 left in the game before they reeled off 15 unanswered points over the next four minutes to go ahead to stay. The 15-point binge started a 25-5 Morningside run that saw the Mustangs open their biggest lead of the game when Chelsie Trask bombed in a 3-pointer to put them up by 18 points, 66-48, with 6:29 left in the game.

The Mustangs pushed their lead to 18 points on one other occasion when Brianna Mozer made a layup with 21.6 seconds left to make it a 76-58 game.

Both teams featured returning All-Americans and they performed to their billings.

Morningside’s Tanaeya Worden, a second-team NAIA II All-American last year, had game-high totals of 25 points and seven steals. Worden drilled nine of 18 field goal attempts en route to the 21st scoring performance of 20 points or more in her two-year Morningside career and raised her Morningside scoring tally to 1,081 career points.

Indiana Northwest’s Sharon Houston, a third-team All-American last winter, scored 22 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds; figures just below her national leading averages of 23.7 points and 16.2 rebounds per game.

Worden received double figure scoring support from Trask, who netted 10 points to go along with a game-high four assists. Fellow starter Emily Christen was next with seven points, while Kalene Anderson also had seven points, her career high, to lead the Mustangs’ reserves.

Houston was the only double figure scorer for Indiana Northwest, which shot a dismal 26.5 percent in the second half to finish the game at 34.0 percent. Morningside connected on just 36.7 percent of its floor shots against a RedHawk team that ranked second nationally in team field goal percentage defense at 33.6 percent.

Indiana Northwest, which entered the game as the national leader in team rebounding margin with a surplus of 12.7 caroms per game, outboarded the Mustangs by a 52-43 margin.

The RedHawks turned the ball over 27 times and the Mustangs’ defensive pressure created major headaches for them in the early going when they turned the ball over 12 times in the opening 10 minutes. Worden flashed her All-America form in the opening minutes as well and scored 15 of the Mustangs’ first 23 points to shoot them into a 23-12 lead at the midway point of the half.

The Mustangs eventually built their first half lead to 13 points, 25-12, on a layup by Leann Osten with 7:44 left. The Mustangs still led by 11 points, 29-18, with 5:18 left in the half after a layup by Hanna Blum before the RedHawks went on a 12-4 run to close out the half and close within 33-30 at the intermission.

Morningside stretched its lead to 37-32 two minutes into the second half before Houston scored seven points in a two-minute and 30-second stretch to spark an 11-4 RedHawk run that put them in front 43-41 after a pair of Houston free throws with 14:44 left in the game.

The Mustangs answered with a 3-pointer by Worden at the 14:26 mark that put them ahead 44-43 and ignited their pivotal 15-0 run.

Morningside’s triumph snapped Indiana Northwest’s seven-game winning streak and closed the books on a 22-9 RedHawk season.

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Five Mustangs Receive Scholar-Athlete Distinction

Five Morningside College women’s basketball players have been named 2011 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

The Mustangs’ Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes are:

Brittany Alfredson, a 5-11 junior guard from Moville, Iowa. Alfredson has a 3.60 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in elementary education.

Shelby Beaudette, a 5-7 junior guard from Walthill, Neb. Beaudette has a 3.83 cumulative GPA with a major in biology.

Hanna Blum, a 5-10 junior guard from Gretna, Neb. Blum has a 3.80 cumulative GPA with majors in elementary education and special education.

Emily Christen, a 6-1 senior forward from Anselmo, Neb. Christen has a 3.63 cumulative GPA with a major in mathematics teaching.

Brianna Mozer, a 5-9 junior guard from Sioux City. Mozer has a 3.86 cumulative GPA with a major in business administration.

Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Click here for the complete list of 2011 Daktronics-NAIA Women's Basketball Scholar-Athletes.

Mustangs Place Two On All-GPAC First-Team


Tanaeya Worden	Chelsie Trask

Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 senior guard from Sioux City, and Chelsie Trask, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Rockford, Iowa, have been named to the All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Women’s Basketball First-Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

They are the two leading scorers for a Morningside team that is ranked third in the nation and will take a 26-5 record into the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Mustangs finished second in the GPAC regular season standings with a 15-3 league mark.

Worden, a repeat first-team selection, is the Mustangs’ leading scorer with an average of 15.2 points per game as well as the team leader with 141 assists and 81 steals for norms of 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals per contest. She leads the team with 26 double figure scoring performances and has the Mustangs’ top single-game scoring performance of the season with a career-high 33 points in a 90-79 victory against Grand View University in the season opener. Worden is the Mustangs’ co-leader with 54 3-point field goals. She has made 170 of 408 field goal attempts for 41.7 percent, 54 of 152 3-point field goal attempts for 35.5 percent, and 76 of 94 free throw attempts for 80.9 percent.

Worden is the 20th leading scorer in Morningside history with 1,056 points over her two-year career.

Trask is averaging 12.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and ranks second on the team with 57 steals and fourth with 53 assists. She grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the Mustangs’ 79-63 victory against Concordia University on Feb. 12 for the Mustangs’ top single-game rebounding performance of the season and has a team-high eight scoring performances of 20 points or more. Trask is the Mustangs’ best free throw shooter with 122 free throws in 143 attempts for 85.3 percent and set a school record with a streak of 43 consecutive made free throws during the season. She has made 127 of 304 field goal attempts for 41.8 percent and 51 of 141 3-point field goal attempts for 85.3 percent.

Trask is the 32nd leading scorer in Morningside history with 785 career points.

In addition to their two first-team selections, the Mustangs placed Brittany Alfredson, Shelby Beaudette, and Emily Christen on the All-GPAC honorable mention list.

Alfredson, a 5-11 junior guard from Moville, Iowa, is averaging 6.1 points per game and is the Mustangs’ second leading rebounder with an average of 5.9 caroms per game. She has been the Mustangs’ leading rebounder in seven of their last 11 contests and has averaged 7.8 rebounds per game during that stretch.

Beaudette, a 5-7 sophomore guard from Walthill, Neb., is averaging 9.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 84 assists and third with 56 steals. She is the Mustangs’ co-leader with 54 3-point field goals. Beaudette has made 54 of 139 3-point field goal attempts for 38.8 percent and 31 of 38 free throw attempts for 81.6 percent.

Christen is averaging 10.3 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. She has been the Mustangs’ leading rebounder in 17 of their 31 games. Christen has made 130 of 259 field goal attempts to lead the Mustangs in field goal accuracy at 50.2 percent and is also the team leader with 37 blocked shots. Christen has made 57 of 72 free throw attempts for 79.2 percent.

Click here for the complete 2010-11 All-GPAC Women's Basketball Team.

Worden Receives Weekly GPAC Honor

Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 senior guard from Sioux City, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week.

Worden averaged 17.5 points and 4.5 assists per game in Morningside’s victories against Mount Marty College and Hastings College to help the third-ranked Mustangs stretch their winning streak to five games and improve their season’s record to 20-3 for a school-record eighth consecutive 20-win season.
Worden scored a game-high 23 points to go along with a game-high five assists and four steals in last Wednesday’s 71-65 triumph at No. 17 Mount Marty. She scored 12 points and dealt a game-high four assists in last Sunday’s 73-60 win at Hastings.

Worden’s 23-point outing against Mount Marty was the 17th scoring performance of 20 points or more of her Morningside career. She is the Mustangs’ leading scorer with an average of 15.0 points per game as well as the team leader with 106 assists and 68 steals for averages of 4.6 assists and 3.0 steals per game.

She has climbed into 24th place on Morningside’s all-time scoring list with 930 career points.

Trask Is GPAC Player Of The Week

Chelsie Trask, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Rockford, Iowa, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after she helped lead the fifth-ranked Mustangs to a pair of victories last week.

Trask averaged 18.0 points per game in the Mustangs’ two victories, including a career-high 26 points when Morningside defeated 11th-ranked Concordia University 89-74 in last Saturday’s GPAC opener in Seward, Neb. Trask made four of six 3-point field goal attempts and went 14-for-14 from the free-throw line against Concordia to set a new Morningside single-game record for free throw accuracy. Aside from her 26 points, Trask also had two rebounds, two steals, and an assist against Concordia.

She scored 10 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the Mustangs’ 60-49 triumph against No. 8 Grand View University last Wednesday in Sioux City.

Trask made six of 11 3-point field goal attempts for 54.5 percent and was a perfect 18-for-18 from the free-throw line in the two games.

Trask is averaging 13.5 points per game this season and has converted 33 of 39 free throw attempts for 84.6 percent.

Mustangs Ranked 5th In NAIA Pre-Season Women's Basketball Poll

Morningside College is ranked fifth in the nation in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll.

The Mustangs return 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from a team that had a 21-12 record and made a school-record eighth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. Morningside finished fourth in last year’s Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings with a 12-6 league mark.

Morningside, which won NAIA Division II National Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2009, is one of six teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA II Pre-Season Top 25. Aside from Morningside, Northwestern College is ranked No. 1, Concordia University is 11th, the University of Sioux Falls is 16th, Hastings College is 21st, and Briar Cliff University is 23rd.

The Mustangs will open the 2010-11 season on the road with a 7 p.m. game against eighth-ranked Grand View University on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Click here for the complete NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Pre-Season Top 25.

Mustangs 2nd In GPAC Women's Basketball Pre-Season Poll

Morningside is picked second in the GPAC Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll.

The Mustangs return 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from a team that posted a 21-12 record last season and made an eighth straight appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Mustangs finished fourth in last year’s GPAC standings with a 12-6 league record.

Morningside will open the season on the road with a 7 p.m. game against Grand View University on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Click here for the GPAC Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll results.