Mustangs cross 100-point mark in win

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The freshmen for the Morningside women's basketball team are playing anything but first-year players.

Take Ali Albrecht, for example. The Mustangs freshman from Waverly, Nebraska, scored a career-high and game-high 23 points off the bench Wednesday night in a 104-52 Mustangs win over Waldorf.

Albrecht hit eight field goals — including six 3-pointers — in the lopsided victory.

"It built up a lot of confidence for me," Albrecht said. "It was a lot of fun, and it definitely felt good. I think it brought the energy up for me a lot."

Albrecht has appeared in seven games this season, and she's played 10.6 minutes per game. She's averaged 6.6 points per game.

"Ali (and Annie Harms) have picked things up really well so far," coach Jamie Sale said. "Ali can really score. When they make mistakes, they always play hard. Ali just lets it go. She doesn't over think it. She has a lot of confidence in herself."

Albrecht scored 10 of those points during a 21-0 second-quarter run that allowed the Mustangs (6-2, 2-2 GPAC) to distance themselves from the Warriors. Morningside outscored 28-13 throughout the second quarter, as they forced eight takeaways and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

Harms, by the way, has averaged 4.5 points per game, and she's played in all eight games this season.

"I think we're all working as a team and working really well together," Albrecht said. "We're playing hard, and we're having fun."

The Mustangs (6-2, 2-2 GPAC) then gained further ground during the third quarter, outsourcing Waldorf 30-8 during the third quarter.

"Once we got some takeaways and some easy baskets, we started playing better," Sale said.

Morningside had three other scorers who reached double figures: Lily Vollertsen (21), Jaeden Webb (12), and Tonja Heirigs (11). 

Sam Ehlers led the Mustangs with 12 rebounds, while Vollertsen had five offensive rebounds. Webb had a team-high five steals, while Ehlers had four. Kaitlyn Freudenberg recorded two blocks.