SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
Ashlynn Muhl scored 21 points and snagged 20 rebounds, Chelsie Trask added 20 and fellow senior Bobbi McManaman scored 12 of her 15 in the second half as Morningside cruised past Briar Cliff 89-65 in the semifinals of the GPAC tournament.
Briar Cliff raced out to a quick 19-4 lead, but M'side answered with a 17-3 run to tie the game up at 22 with 8:14 to play in the first half.
The Mustangs would take their first lead courtesy of a McManaman three and led 42-33 at the break.
Briar Cliff answered with a run of its own to start the second half, and closed to within 52-50 with a little more than seven minutes to play in the game, before the Mustangs used an 18-4 run to put the game out of reach.
"Yeah, they're really good," senior Chelsie Trask said. "We have a lot of motivation going into this game, you know, cross town rivals, and for us to kind of play it close for a while and then come away with a big win, gives us a lot of confidence going forward."
Morningside will face Northwestern in the GPAC title game on Tuesday. The Red Raiders knocked off Concordia 85-83.
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The Morningside men picked up its seventh win in a row, topping Northwestern 73-72 in the men's semifinal of the GPAC tournament.
Danny Rudeen led the Mustangs with 18, and Trent Miller added 16.
The Red Raiders were led by Ben Miller, who scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half.
Miller also had nine rebounds.
Morningside will play Dordt in the Conference championship on Tuesday.
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Dordt withstood a late rally from Midland, but held off the Warriors to earn a spot in the GPAC title game 69-68 Saturday afternoon in Sioux Center.
The Defends led by as many as 14 in the second half.
Trevor Wolterstorff and Jordan Vogel each had 17 in the victory. Chris Sievers added 15 and Kyle Lindbergh chipped in with 12.
Muhl scored 21 points and had 20 rebounds in the win over Briar Cliff.
