Mustang
BASKETBALL SATURDAY, NOV. 13
The 2021-22 Great Plains Athletic Conference season tips off inside the Allee Gymnasium of the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center this afternoon, as Dakota Wesleyan University and Morningside University begin their season series. Head coach Jamie Sale’s women’s team and head coach Trent Miller’s men’s squads are each entering the beginning of the league campaign fresh off non-conference victories. Morningside’s women rolled past Heart of America Conference foe MidAmerica Nazarene 84-64 midweek, while the men turned in a .500 mark at the Cornerstone University Classic last weekend. The Tigers of DWU sport a 2-2 men’s and 3-0 women’s record. Head coach Matt Wilber’s men look to snap a two-game skid, while head coach Jason Christensen’s women’s program is off to a flying start having won all three contests by 15-or-more points.
THE SERIES Mside’s women swept last year’s season set, winning 78-53 at home and 73-68 at Mitchell. They’ve captured three of the previous four and 33 of 42 all-time. The men’s series is close-knit. Due to a recent roll of six victories in the last nine meetings, the Mustangs lead 29-20. Four of the outcomes in the previous three years have been decided by less than 10 points.
THE MATCH-UP Miller’s crew has some strong National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics rankings at this early stage. The team is part of the top 40 in three-point accuracy (40 percent – No. 36). Sophomore guard Aidan Vanderloo, riding a string of four straight 20-point-plus efforts, stands 43rd in points per game (21); senior center Trey Brown, who is just off double-double average pace for the year, has the 44th-best rebound-per-contest mark (9.7); and senior guard Zach Imig is among the first 40 in field goal percentage (73.7 – No. 39). Sale’s women’s team also has lofty national stat marks. Among the team, highlights are a second-place ranking in assists (23 pg) and first 20 standings in made three-pointers per outing (10 – No. 11), field goal percentage (47.8 – No. 17), and field goals per game (32 – No. 20). Individually, senior forward Sophia Peppers is one of 45 players nationwide who is perfect at the charity stripe. Senior guard/forward Taylor Rodenburgh’s white-hot 60 percent accuracy from outside the arc is part of the top 40 (No. 38). Vanderloo turned in back-to-back 20-point-plus totals in games against Olivet Nazarene University of Illinois and Graceland University of Iowa at the Cornerstone University Classic Nov. 5-6. Against ONU in the Mustangs tourney opener, he went nine-of-16 from the field, which included two treys en route to 23 points. His final three-ball attempt nearly completed a furious comeback for Miller’s team. Trailing by 15 in the second half, Mside whittled away at the deficit and had possession in the final 10 seconds, but Vanderloo’s three-point attempt was off the mark. Despite an 87-83 loss, sophomore guard Joey Skoff, Brown, and Imig also turned in impressive evenings on the Mol Arena floor. Skoff came off the bench to tally 15 points and seven rebounds; Brown went for 18 points and nine rebounds; and Imig finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and four assists.