Des Jardins scores career high, IWC women upset No. 8 Mt. Mercy

CEDAR RAPIDS ? Danielle Des Jardins scored a career high 21 points and the Iowa Wesleyan College women?s basketball team picked up a signature win for the 2011-12 season with a 67-51 surprise of Mt. Mercy University Wednesday night at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

The Tigers scored their first win over a ranked team in seven tries this season, defeating the eighth-ranked team in the latest NAIA Division II poll. IWC won its seventh straight game while snapping the Mustangs? 10-game winning streak, and the Tigers also tightened up the Midwest Collegiate Conference race by dealing Mt. Mercy its first conference loss of the season.

Wesleyan shot 48 percent for the game (24 of 50) and limited a good shooting Mt. Mercy team to just 33.3 percent shooting (18 of 54). The Tigers also shut down one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, as the Mustangs made just 3-for-20 from beyond the arc.

IWC (10-7 overall, 6-2 MCC) finished the first half on an 11-2 run over the final six minutes to take a 32-25 halftime lead. The Tigers led the entire second half, allowing the Mustangs (15-5 overall, 7-1 MCC) to get no closer than five points in the final 20 minutes.

Des Jardins scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half, draining three three-pointers in the game and also hitting six-for-six from the free throw line. Her 3-pointer with 6:40 left after an offensive rebound gave Iowa Wesleyan a 53-42 lead, and the Tiger lead would never fall below double digits the rest of the way.

Anna Jones and Ashley Kruse both came up big offensively. Jones scored 20 points, including 12 in the first half, and she added 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Kruse added 15 points, shooting seven of 11 from the field and scoring consistently inside for IWC. Samantha Hodge also added seven rebounds as the Tigers out-rebounded MMU 34-31.

Emily Greiner led Mt. Mercy with 11 points and Amanda Frost added ten. Wesleyan slowed down the Mustangs? high scoring trio of Greiner, Frost and Micha Mims, though, as the three combined for 29 points, 20 points below their per game average.

IWC snapped a four-game losing streak at Mt. Mercy, winning in Cedar Rapids for the first time since defeating the Mustangs in the 2007 MCC Tournament title game. The Tigers are now one game behind Mt. Mercy and Grand View University for first place in the MCC, tied with Viterbo (Wis.) University for third in the conference standings.

Iowa Wesleyan will conclude a three-game road trip Saturday when it travels to face St. Ambrose University at 1 p.m. in Davenport.