Pioneers 74... NDSCS Wildcats 89

The MCC Pioneers battled the NDSCS Wildcats toe to toe for 3 quarters on Monday afternoon in Wahpeton, ND. MCC trailed 59-57 going to the 4th quarter but the 2nd place Wildcats then outscored the Pioneers 30-17 in the final quarter to post a 89-74 win. There  were 3 ties and 1 lead change over the first 3 quarters. 

Maggie Westling was a force in the paint once again for the Wildcats. After posting a 41-point, 22 rebound game against MCC on January 19, Westling accounted for 35 points (12-15 FG, 11-13 FT) and 17 rebounds in the rematch and got help from guard LoLo Carlow as Carlow accounted for 24 points (10-19 FG, 4-6 3's) and 6 rebounds. The Wildcats also got 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists from forward Ava Boyes. 

The Pioneers had 4 players reach double figures led by Matilda Sanz (Freshman - Madrid, Spain) with 22 points (10-16 FG, 1-4 3's, 1-3 FT) and another 22 points (8-14 FG, 2-5 3's, 4-7 FT) from Laynee Elness (Freshman - Winifred, MT). Sanz and Elness each had 5 rebounds as well. Hailey Dennison (Freshman - Shepherd, MT) scored 11 points (5-14 FG, 1-6 3's) and grabbled 5 rebounds while Ebele Mbagwu (Freshman - Bakersfield, CA) had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Jai Baumann (Freshman - Big Sandy, MT) had a team high 6 assists. 

Inside the Box Score

• The Pioneers shot 31-73 (43%) from the field and 4-26 (15%) from the 3-point line. MCC was 8-16 from the free throw line. 
• The Wildcats shot 33-70 (47%) from the field and 5-20 (25%) from the 3-point line. NDSCS was 18-28 from the free throw line. 
• NDSCS outrebounded the Pioneers 53-39. NDSCS had 15 offensive rebounds and the Pioneers had 11. 
• MCC had a season low 8 turnovers and NDSCS had 14. 

The Pioneers are now 4-6 in MonDak Conference play and 12-16 overall. Next up for the Pioneers is a trip to Bottineau on Sunday, February 15 at 12:00 PM MST.