Road To A National Championship

3-Point Shooting Leads Mustangs Past Cedarville In Title Game

Megan Cloud

Morningside used a record setting 3-point shooting display to win its first-ever women’s basketball national championship when it defeated Cedarville University 87-74 in Tuesday’s title game of the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

The Mustangs made a national tournament single-game record 17 3-point field goals to erase the former record of 15 3-pointers the Mustangs made in their opening round 94-66 win against Spalding University. Morningside shot a sizzling 48.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc with 17 treys in 35 attempts. The 17 3-pointers also tied the Mustangs’ school record they had set during the regular season in a win against Waldorf College. Morningside had 47 3-point field goals in its five national tournament games to also set a record.

Megan Cloud led the way by bombing in eight of 11 3-point shots to tie the national tournament single-game record. Cloud, who finished with 34 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. She was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Brittany Carper and Kate Lokken.

The win came against a Cedarville team that was ranked second in the nation and had taken out GPAC powers Concordia University and two-time defending national champion Hastings College in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Morningside finished its storybook season with a 34-4 record to set a school-record for victories, while Cedarville bowed out at 35-3 and had its 23-game winning streak snapped.

Aside from Cloud’s game-high 34-point performance, the Mustangs also received double-double efforts from Carper and Lokken. Carper finished with 17 points, a game-high 11 assists, and eight rebounds, while Lokken went for 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Jill Pudenz just missed double figures with nine points, followed by Beth Watson, six; and Kayla Wibben, four. Wibben also had seven rebounds to finish one shy of her career high.

The Mustangs started their 3-point assault immediately when Lokken struck for a pair of early treys to give the Mustangs a 6-2 lead two minutes into the contest.

The Mustangs took their first double figure lead at the 14:37 mark when Cloud made another 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 16-6 lead.

Cedarville battled back within four points, 16-12, when Kari Flunker scored from close range. Cloud ended the six-point Yellow Jacket run with her third 3-pointer of the game, then she scored from the baseline the next time down the floor to increase the Mustangs’ cushion to 21-12 and cap a run where she scored 11 of the team’s first 21 points.
Morningside opened another 10-point lead, 24-14, when super sub Beth Watson struck from 3-point range at the 11-minute mark. Morningside opened up a 12-point advantage, its largest of the half, when Carper drilled a short range jumper at the 10:20 mark.

The Yellow Jackets tied the score at 35-35 when Kristi Beougher made the second end of a two-shot foul with 26.1 seconds left to complete a run of eight straight Cedarville points. Lokken put the Mustangs up 38-35 at the intermission when she sank a 3-pointer just prior to the horn.

The Mustangs pushed their lead back into double figures when Lokken struck from 3-point range to make it 48-38 with 16:45 left in the game. Pudenz joined the Mustangs’ 3-point act when she struck from the baseline to give the Mustangs’ a 51-38 lead, then Cloud drilled another 3-pointer to give the Mustangs’ their largest lead to that point, 54-38, with 15:41 left.

The Mustangs continued to bomb away from 3-point distance and used 3-pointers by Watson and Carper to increase the margin to 19 points, 64-45, at the 12-minute mark.

Cloud drilled the Mustangs’ national tournament record-breaking 16th 3-point field goal of the game with 8:58 left to put the Mustangs in front 67-49.

The Yellow Jackets fought back within 10 points, 77-67, when Kari Flunker made a pair of free throws with 2:58 remaining to complete a 22-10 Yellow Jacket run. Cloud ended the Yellow Jackets’ comeback bid when she drilled her national tournament record tying eighth 3-pointer of the game.

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Semifinal Win Against Mary Puts Mustangs In Title Game

Brittany Carper	Beth Watson

Morningside’s women’s basketball team will play for the national championship after the Mustangs defeated the University of Mary 70-62 in Monday’s semifinals of the NAIA Division II National Tournament.

The Mustang victory sets up a championship game showdown with Cedarville University, 35-2 and ranked second in the nation, in Tuesday’s championship game at 6:30 p.m. in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. Cedarville punched its ticket for the title game when it knocked off two-time defending national champion Hastings College 82-74 in Monday’s other semifinal.

Tuesday’s championship game will be a rematch of an opening round contest from last year’s national tournament, where Cedarville defeated the Mustangs 80-69.

Morningside will take a 33-4 record and a No. 5 national ranking into the championship game. Mary, which was ranked third in the final NAIA Division II regular season poll, saw its season end with a 32-3 record.

The Mustangs survived one of their worst shooting performances of the season to get past Mary. The Mustangs connected on just 32.8 percent of their field goal attempts, but compensated by outscoring the Marauders by 11 points from the free-throw line and by committing 14 fewer turnovers.

Brittany Carper led the way with a game-high 23 points. Fellow starters Megan Cloud and Kate Lokken joined her in double figures with 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Beth Watson scored 11 points for her third double figure scoring performance off the bench during the Mustangs’ four-game national tournament run.

Mary, the 1999 NAIA Division II National Champions, outrebounded the Mustangs 48-38 despite double figure rebound totals by Lokken (11) and Cloud (10).

Carper led the Mustangs with five assists, while Jill Pudenz had a game-high five steals.

Morningside led just twice in the first half and went into the intermission down 37-30. Mary twice led by as many as nine points in the first half, including an early 17-8 advantage after Sarah Leer made a 3-pointer with 14:20 left. Leer, who tied the national tournament record with 17 3-pointers in her four games, finished with a team-high 19 points.

Leer gave the Marauders their largest lead of the game, 45-35, when she struck from 3-point range with 16:45 left in the game, but her 3-pointer struck a fire in the Mustangs.

Watson made a pair of 3-pointers to help bring the Mustangs within 47-45. Morningside tied the score at 47-47 when Carper drove the lane with 9:52 left in the game, then took its first lead of the second half, 49-47, when Carper made two free throws with 9:12 remaining. Carper penetrated into the lane to score again on the Mustangs’ next possession to put them up 51-47, then Cloud drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8:05 left to put the Mustangs on top 54-47 to cap a 19-2 Mustang run.

Morningside pushed its lead into double figures with 4:12 left when Cloud made the front end of a two-shot foul for a 62-52 advantage.

Mary closed within six points, 62-56, when Jessica Zundel scored from close range with 2:12 left.

Morningside iced the game from the free-throw line, from where Carper and Cloud combined to go eight-for-10 during the final minute.

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Mustangs Topple Evangel To Reach Final Four

Megan Cloud	Jill Pudenz

Morningside has reached the Final Four of the 2004 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Tournament after a 66-43 win against 10th ranked Evangel University during Saturday’s quarterfinal round play at Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

The Mustangs, 32-4 and ranked fifth in the nation, will meet third-ranked University of Mary in Monday’s semifinals at 8 p.m. Mary earned its Final Four berth with a 91-82 double overtime win against No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan University.

Evangel, four-time reigning champions of the America Athletic Conference (AAC), bowed out at 29-7.

Morningside closed out the game by outscoring Evangel 17-2 over the final 7:33 after the Crusaders had rallied within 49-41.

Junior guard Megan Cloud scored a game-high 27 points to lead the way. That came just one night after she had 22 points in the Mustangs’ second round victory against Indiana Wesleyan University. Cloud drilled nine of 14 floor shots against the Crusaders and was perfect in three attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

Jill Pudenz also scored in double figures with 13 points. Kate Lokken and Kayla Wibben were next with eight points each, followed by Brittany Carper with seven and Beth Watson with three.

Morningside’s signature pressure defense helped cause 27 turnovers and a chilly 33.3 percent shooting performance by Evangel.

Carper grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and dealt a game-high five assists. Cloud had six rebounds and a game-high five steals.

Even though Carper and Cloud were the game’s top two rebounders, Evangel still outrebounded the Mustangs by a 35-31 margin.

NaTasha Neal, two-time AAC Player of the Year and a reigning first-team All-American, opened the game’s scoring with a 3-pointer 16 seconds into the contest, but it was the Crusaders’ only lead of the night.

Morningside answered when Cloud took an assist from Kayla Wibben for a layup in the paint, then Cloud made two free throws the next time down the floor to put the Mustangs up for good at 4-3 with 18:52 left. The Mustangs scored again on their next possession when Wibben made a 3-pointer from the baseline for a 7-3 lead. Cloud added two more free throws at the 17:42 mark of the opening half to complete a nine-point run that put the Mustangs up 9-3.

After Evangel’s Shaletha Page scored from close range at the 16:52 mark to end the Crusader’s drought, Cloud scored seven consecutive points to put the Mustangs up 16-5.

The Mustangs expanded their lead to 15 points, 25-10, when Wibben scored off an offensive rebound with 8:22 left in the opening half.

The Mustangs’ largest lead of the half was 16 points, 32-16, after a 3-pointer by Carper with 4:40 left, and 34-18 after a drive to the hoop by Cloud at the two-minute mark.

The Mustangs went into the intermission leading 34-21 in a half where Cloud had 18 points to almost match the Crusaders’ entire output by herself.

The Mustangs came out of the intermission and pushed their lead to 21 points on back-to-back 3-pointers by Wibben and Cloud to make the difference 45-24 with 14:58 left.

Evangel refused to fold, however, and fought back within 45-34 with 11:17 left after Neal drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to complete a run of 10 unanswered Crusader points.

The Crusaders continued to fight back and closed within single digits when Lachelle Jibben made a 3-pointer from the baseline to make it a 49-41 game with 7:33 left.

Cloud pushed the Mustangs’ lead back into double figures when she drove to the hoop for a three-point play to make it 52-41, then Carper scored off a spin move and Watson drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the margin to 16 points, 57-41, with 5:48 left. The Mustangs eventually ran off 10 consecutive points, capped by a basket by Lokken with 4:45 left, to make the difference 59-41.

Cloud pushed the lead to 22 points, 65-43, with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:02 left.

Morningside’s largest lead was the final difference of 23 points after Pudenz made the front end of a two-shot foul with 34.6 seconds left in the contest to complete the scoring.

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Mustangs Top Indiana Wesleyan In Second Round

Brittany Carper	Megan Cloud

Morningside advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Tournament with a 78-64 victory against Indiana Wesleyan during Friday night’s second round action.

The Mustangs will take a 31-4 record and a No. 5 national ranking into a 6 p.m. contest against 10th ranked Evangel University, 29-6, on Saturday.

Indiana Wesleyan, which was ranked 18th in the final regular season poll, bowed out with a 29-8 record.

After Kate Lokken led the Mustangs with a career-high 33 points and a national tournament record eight 3-point field goals in the Mustangs’ opening round 94-66 win against Spalding University, it was the Brittany Carper and Megan Cloud show in the Mustangs’ Sweet 16 victory.

Carper scored a game-high 25 points to give her a school-record 771 points for the season to erase the former Morningside single-season scoring mark of 750 points by Amy Wilhelm during the 1985-86 season. Carper drilled 11 of 15 field goal attempts in the contest, plus dealt a game-high seven assists to go along with six rebounds and three steals.

Cloud was right behind with 22 points with an eight-for-13 shooting performance and a team-high seven rebounds.

Beth Watson added 11 points off the bench for her second straight double figure scoring effort in the national tournament. Jill Pudenz added seven points, and Lokken and Kayla Wibben each had six.

Morningside shot 51.7 percent for the game and outrebounded the Wildcats 31-29 despite a game-high 14 rebounds by Indiana Wesleyan’s Liz Howerth.

Howerth scored 24 points, but only six came in the second half. Stephanie Gill also had a big night with 22 points and seven 3-point field goals to finish just one trey shy of the national tournament single-game record.

Gill opened the scoring with a 3-pointer on the game’s first offensive possession. After Lokken tied the score with a three-point play, Gill bombed in another 3-pointer from the baseline at the 18:10 mark to put the Indianans up 6-3.

Howerth drove in for a layup with 17:30 left put the Wildcats up 8-3 for their largest lead of the night.

Morningside took its first lead of the night, 15-14, when Watson struck from 3-point range with 12:30 left in the half.

The Wildcats worked the ball inside to Howerth for a close range score that put the Wildcats back on top, 16-15, with 11:45 left. Watson drilled a NBA range 3-pointer with 10:58 left to put the Mustangs back in front for good, 18-16, then Watson drilled another 3-pointer the next time down the floor for a 21-16 lead and force the Wildcats into a timeout with 10:19 left.

The Mustangs continued their surge after the timeout when Pudenz drilled a 3-pointer to put them up 24-16. The Mustangs pushed their lead into double digits, 26-16, when Cloud scored off an assist from Watson with 7:46 left in the half. The Mustangs completed a run of 15 unanswered points when Cloud scored off an offensive rebound with 6:32 left to make the difference 30-16.

The Wildcats crept within 10 points after three baskets by Howerth and a 3-pointer by Gill trimmed their deficit to 32-23 and 34-25.

Gill made her fourth 3-pointer of the half to close the gap to 37-30 with 3:12 left. The Mustangs used a late surge with penetration baskets by Carper and Cloud to take a 46-34 advantage into the intermission after an opening 20 minutes where Howerth (18) and Gill (12) combined for 30 of the Wildcats’ 34 points.

Cloud, who scored 14 points in the first half, opened the second half scoring with a drive to the basket at the 19:32 mark to put the Mustangs up 48-34. Cloud made two free throws with 17:02 left to put the Mustangs up 50-36 to match their biggest lead of the game. Lokken made a 3-pointer with 15:38 left to stretch the lead to 17 points, 53-36.

Indiana Wesleyan suffered a major blow with 12:34 left when Howerth picked up her fourth foul and had to exit with 20 of her team’s 38 points and the Mustangs up 55-38.

The Mustangs opened a 20-point lead, 61-41, on a layup by Wibben with 10:21 left.

The Mustangs’ biggest lead was a pair of 22-point leads, the last at 65-43 after a basket by Pudenz at the eight-minute mark.

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Mustangs Romp Past Spalding In Opening Round

Kate Lokken

A record-setting performance by Kate Lokken led Morningside to a 94-66 victory against Spalding University in the opening round of the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 10, in the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

The win advanced the Mustangs, 30-4, to the Sweet 16 and a Friday night matchup against Indiana Wesleyan University at 7:30 p.m.

Spalding, which ended the season at 12-22, had earned its first-ever national tournament berth by winning the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) post-season tournament.

Lokken made a NAIA Division II National Tournament single-game record eight 3-point field goals en route to a career-high 33-point scoring performance. She broke the former national tournament record of seven 3-pointers by College of the Ozarks’ Kim Greenhaw in 1999 and by the University of Mary’s Jessica Anderson in 2000.

The Mustangs struck for 15 3-pointers as a team to break the NAIA national tournament record of 14 3-pointers in a game by Northwest Nazarene in a game against Dominican in 1997.

Megan Cloud also scored in double figures with 14 points and Beth Watson contributed 11 points off the bench. Jill Pudenz was next with eight points.

Brittany Carper, the GPAC Player of the Year, was limited to seven points, but still played a major role in the victory with game high totals of 10 assists and seven steals.

Paula Kloewer contributed season’s highs of five points and five rebounds off the Mustangs’ bench. Betsy Ingenthron also provided five points off the bench, while Vanessa Hasley came off the bench to grab five rebounds.

Morningside never trailed and the score was tied just once at 2-2.

Megan Cloud made a 3-pointer from the baseline at the 17:49 mark to put the Mustangs ahead 5-2 to start a 16-0 run that featured 3-pointers by Kate Lokken and Beth Watson.

Brynn Wimsatt ended the Morningside run with a 3-pointer at the 14:02 mark to pull her team within 18-5. Wimsett, the KIAC Player of the Year, made another 3-pointer and scored off an offensive rebound to keep the difference at 13 points, 25-12.

The lead reached 20 points, 32-12, when Lokken, the Mustangs’ all-time 3-point field goal leader, dialed home from long distance with 8:27 left in the half.

Morningside led 38-15 with 6:30 left in the half before the Lady Pelicans made their best comeback bid.

Spalding cut its deficit below 20 points when Rachel Fowler made a 3-pointer with 5:15 left to make it 38-20, then Gerri Phelps struck from 3-point range on the Lady Pelicans’ next possession to pull them within 38-23.

The Lady Pelicans continued to gather momentum when Deandrea Sullivan struck from 3-point distance to bring them within 12 points, 40-28. Sullivan’s 3-pointer capped a stretch where Spalding outscored Morningside by a 13-2 margin.

Lokken, who scored 17 points in the first half, quieted the Spalding rally with a pair of 3-pointers to push the difference back to 16 points, 46-30, with just over two minutes left in the half. The margin stayed at 16 when the Mustangs took a 50-34 lead into the intermission.

Lokken came out firing again in the second half with another 3-pointer, her fifth of the game, to open the scoring. Lokken made a jumper from the baseline with 17:10 left in the game to push the Mustangs’ lead back over 20 points to 57-36.

The Mustangs pushed their lead to 30 points, 73-43, on a 3-pointer by Watson at the 10-minute mark.

Morningside’s largest lead was 32 points, 75-43, after a basket by Watson with 8:20 left.

Lokken made her record setting eighth 3-pointer with 7:22 left to put the Mustangs up 78-49.

Prairie Gordon made the Mustangs’ record-breaking 15th 3-pointer with 15.6 seconds left to end the game’s scoring.

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