Mustangs score season high in balanced win

HASTINGS, Neb. – Clancy Brown just needed to see the basketball go in. She saw it go in five times from beyond the 3-point line on Saturday.

Brown scored 17 points off the bench that helped the Mustangs (10-9, 8-5 GPAC) knock off No. 25 Hastings 97-90 on the road. The 97 points marked a new season-high.

Three of Brown's five 3s happened during the first quarter, placing the Mustangs back in the win column for the second straight Saturday game.

According to head coach Jamie Sale, Brown recently played in a junior varsity game so that she could get more shots up. That idea sparked a big game for the freshman from North Platte, Neb. Brown's five 3s gives her nine on the season.

"Clancy played a great game today," Sale said. "She's a very talented freshman, and she's gone through a couple of knee injuries in high school. It's nice to see her step up and play well. With Clancy, it helped a lot because she gave us that second option to shoot the 3. She performed like we knew she could."

Alexis Spier led the Mustangs making seven shots and eight free throws with 24 points. In the last 29 seconds, Spier hit seven straight free throws and the go-ahead jump shot with 3 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.
Lily Vollertsen had a 14-point, seven-rebound game. Ella Wragge made 10 free throws en route to a 12-point game, and Chaise Pfanstiel scored 10 points to go along with seven assists.

As a team, Morningside had 24 assists.

Sam Ehlers wasn't too far off from a double-double, as the sophomore from Ponca, Neb., scored eight points and had nine rebounds.

"We played together really well and we executed on offense," Sale said. "We made plays at the end today that we weren't making earlier in the season. Hopefully, we can use this game to gain confidence."

Morningside will travel to Orange City, Iowa, to play Northwestern on Wednesday.