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Morningside opened defense of its NAIA Division II women’s basketball national championship with an 83-45 romp past 19th-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University in Wednesday’s first round action at the NAIA II Women’s Basketball National Championship in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.
The 11th-ranked Mustangs won for the fifth time in their last six games to improve to 21-11 and set up a marquee matchup against No. 6 College of the Ozarks, 28-4, in a second round game at 5:15 p.m. on Friday that will pit two of the nation’s most successful women’s basketball programs over the last few years. Morningside has four Final Four appearances and three national championships to its credit over the past six seasons, while the Bobcats have been to the Final Four each of the past four seasons, including title game appearances in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Tanaeya Worden sparked the Mustangs’ opening round victory with a game-high 16 points and seven steals to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Worden led the Mustangs in scoring for the 11th time in the last 14 games.
Chelsie Trask also had a big night with 15 points, while Bobbi McManaman, Lindsay Determan, and Roni Miller came off the bench to add nine, eight, and eight points, respectively.
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No. 1-ranked Hastings avenged the only loss in its last 26 games when it defeated No. 11 Morningside 76-62 on Saturday in Hastings, Neb., in the semifinals of the GPAC Women’s Basketball Post-Season Tournament.
The Broncos’ only loss in their last 26 contests was an 80-72 regular season setback against Morningside on Jan. 30 in Sioux City. The Broncos’ victory on Saturday snapped a five-game losing streak against the Mustangs.
Hastings will take a 29-3 record into next Tuesday’s GPAC Championship Game against Northwestern. Morningside, 20-11, will almost certainly receive an at-large berth in the upcoming NAIA Division II National Tournament, where the Mustangs are the defending champion.
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 Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 junior guard from Sioux City, has been named to the All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Women’s Basketball First-Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.
Worden is the leading scorer for a Morningside team that will make an eighth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament next week in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. She is averaging 17.5 points per game for the Mustangs’ highest scoring average since Megan Cloud averaged 19.6 points per game in the 2004-05 campaign. Worden has been the Mustangs’ leading scorer in 10 of their last 13 games and has averaged 19.2 points per game during that stretch. She has scored 20 points or more in 15 of the Mustangs’ 31 contests, including six of their last eight contests. Worden has a team-high 27 double figure scoring performances and has been the Mustangs’ leading scorer in 20 of their 31 contests. She scored 31 points in the Mustangs’ 80-27 victory against Hastings College on Jan 30 for the Mustangs’ top individual scoring performance of the season.
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 Tanaeya Worden, a 5-6 junior guard from Sioux City, Iowa, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the second week in a row.
Worden averaged 22.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game to lead the 11th-ranked Mustangs to a pair of triumphs last week. She scored 22 points to go along with a season’s high six rebounds in an 85-76 overtime win at No. 7 Briar Cliff University and had 22 points, four rebounds, and three assists in a 76-41 victory at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Worden scored 15 of the game’s first 19 points against Nebraska Wesleyan to help the Mustangs go on a 19-0 scoring run to open the contest. She made four of five 3-point field goal attempts in the Nebraska Wesleyan game.
Worden has been the Mustangs’ leading scorer in each of their last six games and in nine of their last 11 contests. She has averaged 20.5 points per game over the last 11 games to raise her season’s scoring average from 16.3 to 17.9 points per game for the Mustangs’ highest scoring average since Megan Cloud averaged 19.6 points per game during the 2004-05 campaign.
Morningside finished the regular season with a 19-10 record and will host a GPAC Tournament Quarterfinal round game on Thursday at 7 p.m. against the winner between Tuesday’s first round game between No. 21 Concordia University and Dana College.
 Kalene Anderson, a 6-0 forward from Bancroft, Neb., will attend Morningside College next year and compete for the Mustangs’ women’s basketball team announced Morningside women’s basketball head coach Jamie Sale.
Anderson is a senior at Bancroft-Rosalie High School, where she helped lead the school to back-to-back Class D-1 state championships and a combined record of 54-1 over the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Anderson, a two-time first-team All-Lewis & Clark Conference performer, has scored 996 points during her prep career to put her just four points shy of the 1,000-point milestone.
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 Morningside College is ranked 11th in the nation in the final 2009-10 NAIA Division II women’s basketball poll released on Feb. 22.
The Mustangs, the reigning NAIA Division II National Champions, were also ranked 11th in last week’s poll.
Morningside went 2-0 last week with an 85-76 overtime victory at No. 7 Briar Cliff University and a 71-46 triumph at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The Mustangs finished the regular season with a 19-10 record and need one more victory to achieve a school-record seventh consecutive 20-win season.
Morningside is one of five teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the NAIA Top 25. Hastings College is ranked No. 1, Northwestern College is third, Briar Cliff is eighth, and Concordia University is 21st.
Morningside will host a quarterfinal round game in the GPAC Post-Season Tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday’s first round game between Concordia and Dana College.
Click here for the complete NAIA II Top 25.
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Autumn Bartel |
Dani Gass |
Two of the greatest women’s basketball players in Morningside College history were honored prior to the start of the Mustangs' game against Dakota Wesleyan University on Nov. 24 when the college retired the jerseys worn by Autumn Bartel and Dani Gass.
Bartel and Gass were the standouts for a 2008-09 Morningside team that ranks as one of the all-time best in NAIA Division II history. They led the Mustangs to a 38-0 record and the NAIA II National Championship as Morningside became only the second team in history to capture the NAIA II national title with an undefeated record. Morningside had a combined record of 121-22, won four Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season championships, and won two GPAC post-season tournament championships during their four-year careers. Morningside was undefeated over the final 55 regular season games of their careers.
Both players were named to the 2009 NAIA II All-America first-team. Gass was also named the NAIA Division II National Player of the Year and the GPAC Player of the Year, while Bartel was named the Most Valuable Player of the NAIA II National Tournament and was last year’s GPAC Defensive Player of the Year.
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