[Women's Basketball] Queen Bees halt Mustang win streak

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- St. Ambrose led Wednesday's Midwest Collegiate Conference women's basketball game from start to finish and halted Mount Mercy's four-game win streak with a 75-54 victory over the Mustangs at Lee Lohman Arena.

The 15th-ranked Queen Bees (22-4, 11-2 MCC) kept pace with 13th-ranked Iowa Wesleyan (20-5, 11-2 MCC) atop the league standings, and pushed the Mustangs (16-12, 10-4 MCC) a game-and-a-half behind the leaders with two games left of the regular season schedule. Mount Mercy, now in a second-place tie with 25th-ranked William Penn (19-9, 10-4 MCC), hosts Iowa Wesleyan next Wednesday at Hennessey Recreation Center.

St. Ambrose built a 12-point lead by the break and led by as many as 22 midway through the second half. Mount Mercy cut the deficit to 12 on a pair of free throws by junior guard Emily Greiner with 4:50 remaining, but that was as close as the Mustangs would get as the Queen Bees held them to their lowest scoring output since Jan. 19. Mount Mercy was averaging more than 80 points per game during their four-game win streak.

Greiner scored 15 points to lead Mount Mercy. Junior guard Ashley Koch was the only other Mustang in double figures with 10 points. Junior forward Bria Fields returned from a knee injury to score nine points, and junior guard Laura Lippert chipped in eight. Junior guard Becca Lampe grabbed five rebounds, while Koch collected four steals.

Annie Smith hit four of the Queen Bees' 12 treys and finished with 18 points. Mollie Yeargle had 16 points and Ali Dolphin went over the 2,000-point mark during a 12-point night. Megan Cash joined them in double digits with 11. Dolphin also had nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

The Mustangs are off this weekend and then finish the regular season with a pair of home games, beginning with Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 5:30 p.m. Viterbo (Wis.) visits Hennessey Recreation Center on Seniors Day on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 1:00 p.m.