Second-half surge keeps Mustangs atop GPAC standings

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Junior forward Sophia Peppers (JR/Exira, Iowa) (Exira, Iowa) and senior guard Sierra Mitchell (SR/Pleasant Hill, Iowa) (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) led a rally from a double-digit deficit Thursday, Dec. 31.

With a happy home crowd behind them inside Allee Gymnasium and the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center, Mside, moving to 10-2 overall and 8-1 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, stayed patient offensively through a red-hot first half from visiting Northwestern College. The Red Raiders, seeking a sixth successive victory, hit at a 45.5 percent clip and proved challenging inside, clearing eight offensive rebounds towards building as high as a 12-point cushion in the first 20 minutes.

The second half proved just the opposite. After struggling from the field (nine-of-25 – 36 percent) over the first two periods, head coach Jamie Sale's crew was blistering hot in the third and fourth frames, converting at 50 percent, including drilling eight three-pointers. That shooting acumen, coupled with NWC making just 10 of 32 field-goal attempts, led to a game-deciding 21-5 run that went from midway through the third period to the early stages of the fourth quarter and on to a 75-62 victory.

Mitchell and Peppers led the charge combining for 36 of the squad's 46 second-half digits. Peppers wound up with a second double-double in her last three appearances with a glittering 26 points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots, four steals, and two assists. Mitchell, who posted 16 points in the third period alone, wound up with 23, hitting five treys in the process, to go with a team-best six assists. Freshman post player Chloe Lofstrom (FR/Armstrong, Iowa) (Armstrong, Iowa) wasn't far off the double-figure list, ending with nine points and six boards.

The Maroon, holding a two-game edge in the loss column of conference order of merit, begins a two-game road swing Saturday, Jan. 2. They tip-off with the College of Saint Mary at 2 p.m. inside CSM's Lied Recreation Center gym.

NOTES: Mitchell continued to climb up the program's career points chart. Her 1,692-point total, which has her eight short of becoming the eighth player in school history to reach 1700, moved her into the No. 8 slot … The win locked up a 19^th straight season of 10-or-more triumphs to the tradition-rich Mustangs program.