IW women drop pair

BELLEVUE, Neb. — The Iowa Wesleyan girls basketball team hit the road last week, traveling to Bellevue, Nebraska to compete in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott Classic.

It was a tough two days for the Tigers in the tournament, as they drop a pair of games to Mayville State University, 83-67, on Day One and Bellevue University, 79-60, on the second day of competition.

Against Mayville State, the Tigers struggled out of the gate.

The Comets got the Tigers into foul trouble over the course of the first quarter, forcing a pair of starters to the bench.

Heading into the second, Mayville State held a 23-13 lead.

Iowa Wesleyan got back on track in the second, as the Tigers would win the quarter, but by just one point, 16-15.

At the half, Iowa Wesleyan trailed Mayville State 38-29.

The Tigers battled back in the third, as they cut the lead to five before the Comets answered down the stretch, which included a three pointer at the buzzer to make it 61-50 heading into the fourth.

In the fourth, it was all Mayville State as the Comets built their lead to as much as 18.

Mayville State outshot the Tigers 50% (28-56) to 40.6% (26-64) from the field. The Comets outshot the Tigers from beyond the 3-point line 37% (10-27) to 35.7% (5-14).

The Comets out-rebounded the Tigers 38 to 32. The Tigers won the turnover battle with only 10 compared to the Comets 18 turnovers. Iowa Wesleyan took advantage of the turnovers, scoring 27 points off turnovers, compared to the Comets scoring 11 points.

Isabell West scored 27 points in the loss. She also finished with eight rebounds, two blocks, one assists and one steal. Kyla Moore added 13 points, three rebounds and one assist. Megan Teal finished with seven points, four assists and four rebounds.

On day two against Bellevue University, the Tigers jumped out to a 10-5 lead off a pair of threes from Maci Kuchta and Brielle Baker.

The Tigers would hold onto the lead, but the Bruins closed the gap in the final minutes.

By the end of the first quarter, Iowa Wesleyan held just a three-point lead, 24-21.

In the second, the Tigers built their lead up to eight on two separate occasions, but a late bucket by the Bruins cut the Tigers advantage down to six at the break, 38-32.

To start the second, the Tigers struggled as the Bruins put together a 20-8 run through the third quarter, giving them a 52-46 deficit with a quarter to play.

Much was the same in the fourth, as the Bruins continued to dominate.

In the fourth, the Bruins outscored the Tigers 27-14 to take the win.

The Bruins outshot the Tigers 56.4% (31-55) to 32.8% (19-58) from the field. The Bruins outshot the Tigers from beyond the arc, 55.6% (15-27) to 36% (9-25). They narrowly won the rebounding battle 21 to 20.

Isabell West finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block. Megan Teal added 15 points off the bench.

With the pair of losses, the Tigers fall to 9-5 on the season.

They will be back in action on Jan. 6-7 with the Northern New Mexico Classic in Espanola, New Mexico.