#7 IU East women fall to #2 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) at NAIA DII WBB nationals

3/8/2018 12:00:00 AM

By IU East Sports Information

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Box Score) -- The Indiana University East women's basketball season ended with a 78-62 loss against Dakota Wesleyan University on March 7 in the opening round of the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship.

IU East, the No. 7 seed in the tournament's "Naismith Bracket," finishes 22-11. Dakota Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed in the "Naismith Bracket," is 28-6.

IU East made its third consecutive national tournament appearance in what was just the program's fourth season.

KEY MOMENTS

* Dakota Wesleyan took advantage of an IU East scoring drought and tallied nine unanswered points in the final minutes of the first period and the opening minutes of the second quarter to go ahead 28-16

* The Tigers went on a 10-1 run midway through the third quarter to go ahead 49-30.

* Mackenzie Campbell scored nine points in the last three minutes of the third quarter as the Red Wolves generated some momentum heading into the final period. IU East got the deficit down to single digits when Imani Reeseopened the fourth quarter with a conventional three-point play. The Tigers answered with 11 of the next 13 points, and the Red Wolves got no closer than 14 the rest of the way.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

* IU East shot 3-for-13 in the second quarter as Dakota Wesleyan established a double-digit lead.

* Dakota Wesleyan posted a .528 field goal percentage. IU East finished with a .333 field goal percentage. The Tigers also had a 40-29 rebounding advantage.

* Tia King scored a team-high 22 points for IU East. Mackenzie Campbell added 19.

* Amber Bray scored 14 points for Dakota Wesleyan. Three more Tigers scored 13 apiece.

* IU East finishes its first four NAIA seasons with 92 wins and three national tournament appearances.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

"We struggled early (shooting). If some of those would have fallen early, it would have been a different outlook going into halftime. ... I think we rushed it. We just weren't finishing strong when we were down there, we forced some shots up. ... We got away from what we're really good at. I think that played into that first half, and we couldn't recover.

"(The senior class), they believed in me when I recruited them, they stuck with me for four years. And I promised them ... I promised we would make them champions, I promised we would get them national recognition, and they believed me, and we did. I know their senior year didn't end up how we had all hoped or anticipated, but I think they know ... our underclassmen are in there (the locker room) praising them about the legacy they started and how thankful they are that they put that foundation there for us. A lot of the things the seniors started here for four years are going to be a part of who we are." - IU East coach Tiffani Selhorst