Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Sam Wall drives past an Upper Iowa defender during their game on Sunday.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University women’s basketball team hadn’t played in two weeks since its season-opening weekend. The Mustangs showed very little signs of rust, especially defensively, holding Upper Iowa to under 27 percent shooting in both games and earned a 70-47 victory on Saturday and a 68-37 win on Sunday at the R/A Facility.

“With the nine-day layoff, we were concerned about their conditioning, but I was pleased with the entire team and we were able to take care of business,” SMSU coach Tom Webb said. “It was a team defensive effort all weekend; everyone stayed on their assignments and we guarded multiple positions and multiple efforts.”

The wins move SMSU to 4-0 on the season, its best start since the 2004-05 season. The Mustangs also held UIU to just 14 second-half points on Sunday, the first time they’ve limited an opponent to under 15 points in a half since Nov. 20, 2018 against North Central (MN).

Upper Iowa jumped out to a quick start with five straight points in the first minute before a 3-pointer by Meleah Reinhart got the Mustangs on the board. Caleigh Rodning would tie things up at 7-7 with 6:30 left in the first quarter and the two teams traded points the rest of the frame, with four consecutive free throws from Sadie Stelter giving SMSU a 17-14 lead after one.

The back-and-forth action continued for the first several minutes of the second quarter, with Upper Iowa getting to within two at 23-21 with 5:15 left in the half. From there, it was pretty much all SMSU, as a 3-pointer by Jenna Borchers made it 29-21 with 4:16 left before Hannah Parsley and Abuk Akoi put the Mustangs up double digits with layups en route to a 12-point halftime lead at 35-23.

Similar to Saturday’s game, SMSU’s defense continued to show its strength in the second half on Sunday. After Upper Iowa got a layup to start the third, the Mustangs held UIU scoreless for nearly the next eight minutes. SMSU kept its foot on the gas pedal on offense, getting back-to-back layups from Erin Baxter to put the Mustangs up 45-25 with 4:48 left in the third and cap off a 22-4 run.

SMSU never looked back from there, as a trio of baskets by Reinhart and a 3-pointer from Borchers made it 59-29 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Mustangs led by as many as 36 when Sarah Conlon connected on a 3-pointer for her first points in a SMSU uniform with 1:43 to go on their way to the 68-37 victory.

Reinhart led SMSU with 13 points while Borchers added 12 and Akoi and Madison Gehloff each had seven. As a team, SMSU was held to 35% shooting (21 of 60) from the field, including 5 of 18 from 3-point range, but made 21 of its 24 free-throw attempts.

Rodning collected eight rebounds while Borchers dished out three assists. SMSU also grabbed nearly 50 rebounds as a group and out-rebounded Upper Iowa 49-39.

Rodning said despite some struggles on offense, they continued to stay aggressive with their rebounding efforts.

“Rebounding is extremely important, especially when shots aren’t falling,” Rodning said. “We want to grab as many rebounds as we can and everyone is so eager to go after rebounds on both ends of the floor.”

Defensively, SMSU held Upper Iowa to just 20.7% shooting (12 of 58) on the game, including 14.8% from 3-point range (4 of 27).

Saturday

SMSU 70, UIU 47

The first game of the weekend saw another back-and-forth start, with SMSU getting two quick baskets by Reinhart before Upper Iowa answered with a trio of 3-pointers to take a 9-8 lead with eight minutes left in the opening quarter. The Mustangs continued to stay aggressive and attack the basket, though, as layups from Rodning and Stelter put SMSU up 14-9 a minute later.

Upper Iowa responded with a layup to make it a three-point contest at 18-15, but SMSU got another basket to take a five-point lead after one. The Mustangs continued their momentum with a pair of free throws from Stelter and a layup by Baxter to start the second quarter, but the highlight of the frame was the defense of SMSU.

The Mustangs kept Upper Iowa scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second quarter, with UIU going 0 of 11 during that span. Meanwhile, SMSU built its lead to double digits thanks to layups from Gehloff and Reinhart to make it 30-15 with 3:18 left in the half. Upper Iowa would stop the streak with a layup and a 3-pointer, but Borchers answered right back with a layup to give SMSU a 35-20 lead going into the locker rooms.

Using their momentum to their advantage, the Mustangs got consecutive 3-point plays from Reinhart and Borchers before Stelter connected on a 3-pointer – the first of the game for SMSU – to make it 48-26 with 5:42 left in the third quarter. SMSU continued to create separation, leading by as many as 28 in the frame before taking a 56-33 advantage into the fourth. The Mustangs kept things going in the final frame, as a layup from Akoi made it 61-35 with 8:14 left before SMSU sealed the victory at the free throw line down the stretch.

Stelter led SMSU with 18 points while Reinhart added 14 and Borchers had nine. Akoi had seven rebounds while Stelter added two assists. As a team, SMSU shot 43.6% (24 of 55) from the field, despite only making two 3-pointers (2 of 10).

Stelter said they did a good job of getting to open spots on the floor and finding quality looks at the basket inside the perimeter.

“It just sheds a light that if you can take the 3-pointer away, we can still find ways to score. We were getting to our spots and putting up good shots,” Stelter said. “We moved the ball quickly and everyone was working well together.”

Defensively, SMSU held Upper Iowa to 26.1% shooting (18 of 69) from the field, including just 12.9% from 3-point range (4 of 31).

Up next

SMSU (4-0, 2-0 NSIC) will hit the road to face Minnesota State University, Mankato next weekend, beginning with a 6 p.m. matchup Friday.