Warriors Run Out to Big Lead, Hold Off Bruins Rally

FOREST CITY, IA – The Warriors put together a solid Friday night performance and set a new first in the North Star Athletic Association series in the process. Waldorf University start strong and keep the momentum rolling into the third quarter to lead by as many as 20 points, before it held off Bellevue University, 60-56, in women's basketball action.

After an Edosa Ogbemudia free throw, the Warriors enjoyed their biggest lead of the night at 40-20 with 6:08 left in the third period. The visiting Bruins chipped away at the deficit until a 3-pointer pulled them to within two, 58-56, with 30 seconds left in the game. Waldorf's Sandra Christian, though, stepped to the line and netted both ends of a pair of free throws 10 seconds later to seal the victory as Bellevue's final shot and both free throws in the last 20 ticks were off the mark.

With the victory, the Warriors (6-14) not only snapped their six-game skid, but gave them both their first NSAA (1-6) win and even bigger their inaugural victory over the Bruins (10-12/3-4 NSAA) in 16 meetings since league play starting in 2016. Waldorf also evened the season series after Bellevue took the first matchup, 73-62, on Jan. 19.

"I am very proud of our team in their record making performance," said Waldorf Head Coach Shawn Chaffin.  "We showed a ton of heart tonight as we had our best defensive game of the season.  Offensively, we had a really balanced effort as well with four players in double digits."

The Waldorf quartet of Brooke Dial, Lizzie Garza, Christian and Ogbemudia combined for 56 of the team's 60 points, including all six of the 3-pointers on 13 tries, to lead the winning effort. Dial connected on 6 of 13 field goals, three treys, and a pair of steals, while Garza also netted 15 points on 7 of 8 free throws to go with six rebounds. Christian downed the other trio of 3-pointers as part of her 13 points, three caroms, two assists, two steals and a block. Ogbemudia added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists to complete the four main contributors.

Bellevue had Ashtyn Arnold lead its efforts with 18 points on 7 of 16 shooting. The Bruins made on 26% from the field (20 of 77) and only 9 of 20 free throws. The visitors did outrebound the Warriors, 40-27.

Leading 6-4 in the first frame, the Warriors went on an 11-2 spurt over the final two-plus minutes with Christian and Dial 3-pointers as the last buckets and 17-6 lead.

Waldorf continued the solid first half when it continued to build the margin on back-to-back scores on a layup by Garza and a Christian triple to follow for a difference of as many as 18 points, 28-10, at 6:31 in the second quarter.

After leading 31-16, the Warriors pushed it to the largest lead of the game, 40-20, 3:52 into the third frame.

With 4:57 remaining, the Bruins tallied 11 of the next 13 points to cut the score to 52-48. The visitors kept their rally going with two 3-pointers in a row in an 18-second span for the smallest margin since the first quarter, 58-56.

Waldorf will not have long to savor the win as it will host No. 9 ranked Dakota State Saturday afternoon, Feb. 3, in a 3 p.m. tip-off.

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