No. 2 Mustangs eliminate Lady Jays
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Lady Bluejay volleyball players Jill Hein and Shannon Kroeker are somewhat familiar with the Morningside (Iowa) Lady Mustangs.
The Tabor duo has had to deal with the Mustangs on the volleyball court in past seasons.
On Saturday in the second round of the NAIA Division II's National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, the champions of the KCAC had the privilege of squaring off against the defending national champion Mustangs on the hardwood.
Making its first appearance at the national tournament in 13 years, Tabor's record-setting season came to an end with the Mustangs moving on after a 68-57 win.
After upending Evangel Monday night in the Final Four, the Mustangs again have the chance to defend their national title against the same opponent of a year ago, top-ranked Cedarville (Ohio).
Even with a second round exit, Bluejay coach Rusty Allen was enthused with the experience.
"The whole tournament was a great experience," Allen said. "Sioux City really does a good job with the tournament, but the best part was playing basketball and being able to win that first game and move on to the second round."
Tabor set the table for the showdown with the defending national champs outlasting Daemen (N.Y.) two days earlier as Nicole Ellis flushed a pair of free throws with seconds remaining for a 59-57 thriller.
The Mustangs pressure defense thrives on forcing the opponents into bad decisions, costing teams 27.9 turnovers a game prior to the tournament.
That didn't faze the Bluejays, as they finished with just 17 while hassling the Mustangs for 14.
Morningside jumped out of the gate in hurry, racing to a quick 6-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game on a Megan Cloud triple.
The 2004 National Tournament MVP and Great Plains Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Cloud scored a game-high 28 points and canned a trio of threes, earning high-praise from Allen.
"They (Morningside) put the ball in her hands when they needed a basket," said Allen. "She's really good. She's the best player we've played against all year."
The Mustangs let loose a barrage of threes on 8-for-32 which came up pivotal in Morningside's win.
Tabor in the meantime struggled with shooting overall, hitting 1-of-12 from outside and 33 percent from the field. That proved to be the difference in the game.
Three more of the Mustangs' threes came from Beth Watson, who doubled Tabor up 14-7, 5:10 into the game.
Donya Anderson finished the season with 11 points and an astounding game-high 14 rebounds.
The Bluejays got the ball inside to Anderson to outscore the Mustangs 10-3 and tie the game at 17.
Stacie Herman ended the season scoring a team-high 12 points amidst dishing out four assists. Jill Hein added 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out.
With 9:10 left in the first half, Erica Dechant made the Bluejays' lone trey to give Tabor a 20-17 lead.
Morningside responded with 11 unanswered points to regain the lead, 28-20.
In its best half shooting 37 percent, Tabor was down 39-30 at the break with the Mustangs benefiting from 5-of-18 threes.
While the national tournament could provide fond memories for some of the Bluejays, Erica Hemmert might want to forget Tabor's final game.
With Tabor in a 44-33 jam, the Bluejays had to get the job done without their leading scorer Hemmert, who fouled out with eight points 5:00 into the second half.
Following one more three from Watson, Tabor faced its biggest deficit of the game, 49-33, barely 7:00 in.
The Bluejays got their foot in the door before the Mustangs could slam it, using a 12-0 run to shrivel the lead to 49-45 with 10:00 left.
Tabor was still in the game at the 4:00 mark, trailing 58-53.
That was when cold shooting caught up with the Bluejays, as the Mustangs put the game out of reach with a 10-4 run to close it up.
The Bluejays only managed 29 percent from the field the second half.
Morningside wasn't much better, hitting 33 the second half and 3-of-14 from long range for 38 on the night.
"We really played a good game," said Allen of the loss to the Mustangs. "We didn't shoot particularly well, but we rebounded well, defended well, and executed our offense well, so I was really pretty proud of the team for the way they played.
"We were right there with them nearly the entire game."
Keep in mind the Bluejays lose nobody from this season's record-setting 25-6 team.
"As far as next year, I can't see it being anything but a confidence boost for us," Allen said of the Bluejays finish. "It was a really good year for us, winning the conference, get a top-10 ranking, and win a game at the national tournament.
"It's one of those seasons where you feel like you put it all together, it was very enjoyable. Probably the best part about it all was that we played our best basketball at the end of the year and that's what you're wanting to do."
