WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Results

Dordt College Women's Basketball vs. Nebraska Wesleyan

February 13, 2010

Game Media

(Sioux Center, Iowa) The Defender women got back to .500 basketball in GPAC play with an 80-51 win over Nebraska Wesleyan this afternoon and are now 8-8 in conference play and 16-12 overall. On the strength of a tenacious defense the Dordt women built a double digit lead in the first half and the Prairie Wolves were never able to get the lead back down to single digits over the last 23 minutes of play.

The Defender women went up 3-0 early in the game and a Rasmussen 3 pointer for the Prairie Wolves tied it at 3-3 with 17:27 to go in the first half. That would be as close as NWU would get as Dordt took a 5-3 lead on their next possession on a Soodsma's jumper and held the lead for the entire contest. Dordt went up by 10 points at 19-9 on a DeKoekkoek free throw with 8:37 to go in the first half. The 'Wolves managed to cut the Dordt margin down to 5 at 27-22 with 5:20 remaining but back to back 3 pointers by Amber Soodsma pushed the lead back to 11 at 33-22 with 3:28 left and the Defenders took a 14 point gap into the break at 42-28.

Dordt did not shoot the ball well in the first half going 15-42 for 35.7% from the floor but their relentless team defense and large rebounding advantage were significant factors in getting the 14 point lead. The Defenders warmed up in the second half, shooting 57.1% and the women built on the their 14 point cushion in the second half taking a 20 point lead on a Kate DuMez layup with 12:31 remaining at 57-37. A pair of free throws by DuMez at the 2:242 mark gave Dordt a 30 edge at 78-48 and the Defenders cruised home for their 8th conference victory.

"Our defense really keyed things for us today," noted Dordt Head Coach Craig Stiemsma. "We weren't shooting it well early on and missed 6 point blank shots but our defense kept the game from being a dog fight to the finish. We also did a good job on the boards outrebounding them by 14 (44-30). Julia (DeKoekkoek) had a quiet 20 points tonight and McKinzie had a very good night as well and has become a consistent 4th scorer for us. Now we need to focus on a very important game against Mount Marty on Wednesday. It is a key game for both of us in terms of post-season seeding." McKinzie Schmidt lead all scorers with 22 points and also pulled down 7 rebounds. Julia DeKoekkoek had 20 on 8-11 from the floor. Amber Soodsma finished with 13 points and a team high 9 rebounds and Kate DuMez added 12.

Shea Rasmussen lead the Prairie Wolves with 16 points and Katy Golden had a game high 13 rebounds.

Dordt held a 44-30 rebounding margin on the afternoon and turned the ball over only 10 times while the 'Wolves had 22 turnovers. The Defenders had 16 steals to only 7 for Nebraska Wesleyan.

Other GPAC Scores:
Doane at 67
Briar Cliff 78

Northwestern at 70
Hastings 83

Dana at 52
Morningside 78

Concordia at 48
Sioux Falls 38

Midland Lutheran at 49
Mount Marty 60

GPAC Standings:

Hastings 15-1 / 25-3
Northwestern 13-3 / 22-4
Briar Cliff 12-4 / 23-5
Morningside 10-6 /17-10
Concordia 10-7 / 19-9
Mount Marty 9-7 / 18-8
Sioux Falls 9-8 /17-12
Dordt 8-8 / 16-12
Doane 7-9 / 11-16
Nebraska Wesleyan 4-12 / 7-16
Dakota Wesleyan 4-12 / 8-20
Midland Lutheran 3-13 / 8-20
Dana 1-15 / 3-22

The Defender women will host Mount Marty on Wednesday, February 17 in their last home game of the regular season. The womens' game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 pm.

Dordt's Current Record: 16-12 (8-8)
Opponent's Current Record: 7-16 (4-12)

Team 1st Half 2nd Half Final
Dordt College 42 38 80
Nebraska Wesleyan 28 23 51
Dordt Rebounding Leaders Total
Amber Soodsma 9
Bre Schneidermann 8
McKinzie Schmidt 7
Brianna Spronk 6
Team Total: 44
Opponent Rebounding Leaders Total
Golden, Katy 13
Becker, Denae 3
Rasmussen, Shea 3
Weinandt, Jordan 2
Team Total: 30
Dordt Scoring Leaders Total
McKinzie Schmidt 22
Julia DeKoekkoek 20
Amber Soodsma 13
Kate Du Mez 12
Team Total: 80
Opponent Scoring Leaders Total
Rasmussen, Shea 16
Golden, Katy 8
Becker, Denae 7
Shanahan, Mallory 7
Team Total: 51
Dordt Team Shooting Pct
Field Goals: 31/70 44%
3-Point Field Goals: 4/16 25%
Free Throws: 14/16 88%
Opponent Team Shooting Pct
Field Goals: 19/51 37%
3-Point Field Goals: 8/22 36%
Free Throws: 5/8 62%

For more information, please contact Mike Byker, Sports Information Director, at mbyker@dordt.edu or (712) 722-6301.