Pioneer Basketball opened over the weekend and both the men and the women won both game of their respective tournaments. The women opened the Tip-Off Classic against Doane College and won 72-57 behind Bethany Rexroth's career-high 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Bethany Schwab added 13 points. Hadleigh Meek had 11 points. Kristie Tiegreen had 9 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. And Kristin Malone contributed 8 points and a game-high 4 assists.
On Saturday the women defeated Park University 51-43 in a defense battle. Park forced 31 Pioneer turnovers, but MNU held the lead and came away with the victory. Kristie Tiegreen led MNU with 14 points and 13 rebounds. And Rexroth completed her weekend with another double-double: 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots. Her efforts earned her HAAC Player of the Week.
MNU is 2-0. The next game is Tuesday at home vs. Ottawa (1-2) at 5:30.
The men began the Jeff Uphaus Classic with a dominant 93-62 victory over Grace University. Fourteen Pioneers got at least one point, and four reached double figures. Brenton Bell led the way with 14 points, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Vince Thompkins came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 2 steals. Ben Swinger had 10 points and 4 steals. Lukas Weigel had 10 points and 6 rebounds. And Andrew Crotty scored 6 points and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.
In the final game of the weekend, MNU avenged last year's home loss to Park with a 69-65 victory over the Pirates. Brenton Bell's 21 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals led the Pioneers. Lukas Weigel scored 17 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for his first double-double. And Rustin Dowd reached double figures with 11 points.
MNU is 2-0. The next game is Friday at home at the Pioneer Classic vs. Cardinal Stritch (0-0) at 8:00.