Kansas Wesleyan gave unbeaten Morningside all it wanted the first 24 minutes of the game before wearing down in a 76-64 loss Friday afternoon in the Bethel College Classic.
Coach Harper Taylor was far from disappointed though.
"I'm very pleased with the effort of our team," she said on the postgame radio show. "I feel like that's how they need to approach a GPAC (Great Plains Athletic Conference) team or any team as intense as Morningside. I definitely know that's going to carry us a long way in (the Kansas) Conference."
KWU (2-2) led by as many as 12 points (35-23) in the second quarter and had a 40-33 advantage at halftime.
An Odessa Ozuna basket with 6:49 left in the third quarter gave the Coyotes a 48-39 lead before Morningside (3-0) rallied. The Mustangs scored the next 11 points and took the lead 50-48 with 3:14 left.
Izzy McCool's 3-pointer briefly put Wesleyan back on top 53-52 lead with 1:35 remaining but Morningside scored in the final minute and led 54-53 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Mustangs opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run, the last eight points by 6-foot-2 center Lily Vollertsen who finished with a game-best 21 points and 10 rebounds. KWU couldn't get any closer than the 10 the rest of the game.
The Coyotes were able to contain Morningside's scorers until midway through the third quarter.
"I think our defensive effort ebbs and flows and that's what we're trying to figure out," Taylor said. "If we can produce and bring that energy on the defensive end it will help fuel our offense.
"I think even at halftime we were a little bit complacent and we really didn't turn it on until the third quarter. That's when we kind of gassed out with some of our shots not being able to fall in that fourth quarter."
Ozuna had a gargantuan game finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. She scored 15 in the first half.
"She has really made some big strides this weekend, just the way she's been able to create scoring," Taylor said. "We see it every day in practice, but it's been really nice to see her translate that into the game."
McCool added 15 points for the Coyotes who shot 35 percent (23 of 66) including 8 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Clancy Brown scored 16 for Morningside, which shot 42 percent (27 of 63) and was 5 of 22 from long range. The Mustangs won the rebounding battle 43-27 and committed 21 turnovers; KWU had 18.
"I thought we shared the ball unselfishly today," Taylor said. "I know we didn't win but it just felt like overall we made a lot of really positive steps in the right direction."