It looked to be a close game early on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 29) in the Snyder Arena as the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves hung tough with the No. 20 Briar Cliff Chargers. The Chargers defeated the Wolves 86-57 with strong full court pressure forcing the Wolves into 32 turnovers.
In the first half, both teams battled back and forth until a few too many turnovers sent the Chargers up by 11 with 6:49 left in the half. The Wolves were never able to come back.
In the half Senior Sadie Struebing led the Wolves going 3-4 at the line and scoring nine points. Right behind her was sophomore Mallory Shanahan and senior Katy Golden, scoring eight and six respectively. Both Shanahan and Golden were perfect from the line.
At the beginning of the second half the Wolves were not going to back down easily, as they were able to come within 10 points early in the second half. Down 28-45, Golden, Shanahan, and Struebing came together to go on a 10-3 run against the Chargers. But, from there the Chargers took over and never looked back. Tough Charger defense and quick shooting from three-point range ended the game 86-57.
Top scorers for the Wolves included Golden and Shanahan both with 13 points while Struebing added another 14. All three also led in rebounds for the team accumulating 20 out of the 36 total team rebounds.
The Chargers were more diverse with four players hitting double digits and two players within a baskets range. Kristen Twait led the Chargers scoring 15 points while teammates Morgan Brown (13), Megan Salcedo (12), and Kylie Dilla (11) also hit double digits.
The Chargers’ victory over the Prairie Wolves takes the Wolves to 7-12 overall, and 3-9 in the GPAC. Their next game will be in Crete, Neb. against the Doane Tigers on February 2nd.
