The Morningside (Iowa) Mustangs kept their season record perfect in 35 games with a 71-57 win Bethel (Ind.) on Friday night, March 13 in the second round of the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Tournament.

The win by Morningside puts them in the quarterfinal round and was triggered by a 15 point run spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half.  Morningside went from a 24-18 lead near the end of the first half to a 39-18 lead, closing the first half with a 12 point run.

Bethel was unable to get their shooting on track and actually trailed 57-30 before charging back to cut the lead down to 62-51 with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

The Mustangs were led in scoring by Laura Nelson's 15 points as she nailed five three-pointers in the game.  Autumn Bartel had 13 and Brittany Williamson was good for 12.  Dani Gass completed the double-figure scoring for the Mustangs with 10 points.

The majority of Bethel's points were scored by Bekah Basinger's 19 points and Heather Seyfred was good for 17.  Mandy Yoder closed out the double-digit scorers for the Lady Pilots with 16.

Morningside forged a 50-41 rebounding advantage led by Leslie Foral's 13 and Kayla Weerheim had 10.  Bethel's Kesly McKee grabbed ten and Basinger had eight.  Amber Peters had five assists for Bethel while Gass set up four baskets by assist for Morningside.

The Mustangs, regular season champions in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, will play in the 8:00 p.m. quarterfinal round game Saturday against the Black Hills State-Kansas Wesleyan winner.

Box Score