Iowa Wesleyan sweeps Principia

MT. PLEASANT - The Iowa Wesleyan basketball teams were at their sharpest when it mattered on Tuesday night. The Tigers swept Principia in their SLIAC openers on Tuesday night at Ruble Arena, with the women dominating 79-40 and the men scoring a 92-85 victory.

The Tiger women jumped on Principia early. Allie Massner lit the Panther defense up from the opening tip. She hit three-straight three-pointers, collecting nine points in the first two minutes to give IW a 9-0 lead. The Tigers led 21-7 after one quarter and 37-19 at the break.

The Tiger women ended any thoughts of a Principia comeback in the third quarter. They dominated the Panthers 21-5 in the third to hold a commanding 58-24 lead after three.

Morgan McCrea led the way with 18 points and seven assists. Maddie Williamson scored 18 points and co-led the team with five steals. Massner finished with a double-double, collecgint 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Sydney Farrar scored 12 points to give the Tigers four double-digit scorers.

Da'Jaah Swolley finished the game with nine points. Adriona Lindsey had three. Deericka Martin and Kieley Allen scored two points each, and Allen finished the game with five steals.

The Tiger men had quite the slow start. Principia held a double-digit lead in the first half before the Tigers cut it to 37-36 at the end of the half. IW corralled the lead early in the second half and built it to as much as 15 points in the second half. Principia cut the lead down to five points but the Tigers held on for a seven-point victory.

Alex Dentlinger and Marvin Saintolien were red-hot in the win. Dentlinger went 5-8 from three-point land en route to a team-high 19 points, and Saintolien was 4-6 from beyond the arc for 18 points.

Jake Neubauer had 13 points and three steals in the win. Kaleb Cresswell scored 13 points of his own. Austin Banks had 12 points and four assists. Alberto Torres scored 10 points, and Jarryd Fernandes led with seven points and seven rebounds.

The Tiger women are now 1-5 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The men evened their record to 3-3 overall and are also 1-0 in SLIAC play. Both teams will travel to Westminster College this weekend for games on Saturday, Dec. 7.