By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
For those who assumed No. 1 Thomas More would meet unbeaten Sterling (Kan.) in the NAIA national quarterfinals on Saturday, think again.
Dakota State (S.D.) erased that potential matchup on Thursday by rolling to a 91-77 victory over Sterling in the round of 16 at Sioux City, Iowa. Sterling owned a 30-0 record going into that contest, but Dakota State built a 53-33 halftime advantage and extended that lead to as many as 31 points in the second 20 minutes.
Briana McNutt helped Thomas More overcome the full-court pressure defense of Olivet Nazarene. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Morgan Koepsell finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds off the Dakota State bench to ignite the win over Sterling. Jessi Giles scored 17 points for the Trojans, who won their 23rd consecutive game and improved to 27-3.
Dakota State won the rebounding battle by a whopping 53-33 margin, with five players grabbing at least five boards. The Trojans held Sterling to just 37.3 percent shooting from the field and won despite turning the ball over 33 times.
Giles leads Dakota State in scoring at 17.4 points per game. She has drained 73 shots from 3-point range this season and has also converted 82.2 percent of her free throws.
Koepsell, a 6-foot-2 center, averages 11.9 points per game in a reserve role. She is shooting 56.4 percent from the field and has also buried 22 shots from 3-point range.
Dakota State is ranked No. 14 nationally in the NAIA poll. The Trojans have not lost since Nov. 17, when they dropped a 74-67 decision to Morningside (Iowa) at Madison, S.D.
Thomas More enters Saturday’s national quarterfinals with a 27-1 record after posting a 71-51 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene on Thursday. The Saints own a 12-game winning streak going into Saturday’s 2 p.m. showdown with Dakota State.
Maggie Jones and Alexah Chrisman each scored 10 points off the bench Thursday to spark the victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene. Courtney Hurst added a team-leading 11 points for Thomas More, which held the Cougars to 35.7 percent shooting from the field.
Thomas More is seeking its fourth national championship in seven years. The Saints won back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships in 2015 and 2016. Thomas More added a third national crown in 2019 before transitioning to the NAIA last season.
Don Owen is sports editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Contact him at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport.
