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Issued: November 24, 2006

MORNINGSIDE ROLLS INTO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

EAU CLAIRE - NAIA powerhouse Morningside College used an up-tempo style of play to roll into the championship game of the UW-Eau Claire Thanksgiving Showcase with an 81-49 triumph over Viterbo University in the opening tourney game at W. L. Zorn Arena Friday night.

The Mustangs, who won the NAIA Division II national championships in 2004 and 2005, never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 42 (68-26) with 8:59 left in the second half. They used a 14-0 run to break from a 10-7 lead to a 24-7 advantage. They also had two eight-point runs in the first half and led 44-16 at the break. Viterbo never got closer than 30 in the second half.

While their perimeter shooting left a lot to be desired (2 for 20 on three-pointers), the Mustangs showed a 52-24 edge on points in the paint. They scored 32 points off turnovers, 15 on second chance attempts and 14 on fast breaks. Viterbo committed almost twice as many turnovers (29-15) as Morningside.

After shooting 62.5 percent from the field (20-32) in the first half, Morningside finished with 52.3 percent shooting from the floor (34-65) for the game. Viterbo connected on a dismal 26.9 percent in the first half (7-26) but improved to 46 percent in the second half to finish with 37 percent (20-54) for the game. The V-Hawks were only slightly better than Morningside on treys (5-20) but also lost ground at the free throw line where they hit just 4 of 10 while Morningside converted 11 of 19.

Morningside was able to rest its starters for the title bout as no Mustang player spent more than 20 minutes on the floor while Viterbo had four players who were forced to go 30 or more minutes. As a result, Morningside’s leading scorer was 6-0 junior Alisha Willey with 10 points while 5-9 freshman J. J. Hall contributed nine and 5-10 sophomore Dani Gass and 5-11 junior Kim Hassler tallied eight apiece. Those four were a combined 17 of 22 from the field.

While holding a 42-32 edge on the boards, no single Morningside player grabbed more than five.

Viterbo’s leading scorer was 5-10 freshman Katie Mechling with 10 while 6-0 junior post Raelyn Hayes added nine. The V-Hawks are now 1-5 for the season.

Morningside will face the winner of the UW-Eau Claire/Otterbein, Ohio game in the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday while Viterbo will meet the Eau Claire/Otterbein loser at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Morningside-Viterbo Box Score

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