STORM LAKE, Iowa — In the first game of the first full season of the Sydney Golladay era, Nebraska Wesleyan women's basketball secured an 81-58 win over Waldorf in the season opener Friday night at Siebens Fieldhouse on the campus of Buena Vista University during the opening game of the Central Bank Classic.
The Prairie Wolves were led by Halsey Thomalla and Mattea Kassebaum, who poured in 20 and 15 points, respectively. It was the first game in a Prairie Wolf uniform for both players. Kassebaum transferred from Doane prior to the season, while Thomalla, a freshman, made her collegiate debut.
Thomalla also led all Prairie Wolves with 12 rebounds, while Kassebaum and Sharon Greek added five boards each.
The 23-point victory marked Nebraska Wesleyan's first season-opening win since the 2022-23 season and the fifth win of Golladay's head coaching tenure. Golladay took over as interim head coach four games into last season, making 2026-27 her first full season at the helm.
The Prairie Wolves shot an efficient 44.8 percent from the field, marking the program's highest field goal percentage in a season opener since 2010.
Nebraska Wesleyan came out firing, jumping ahead 11-0 with 6:57 remaining in the first quarter and extending its advantage to 20-5 with 2:50 left. However, Waldorf closed the quarter with six unanswered points. The Prairie Wolves still held a 20-11 advantage after the first, shooting 9-for-19 from the field and connecting on five of their first seven attempts. Thomalla led the way with seven points, making all three of her two-point attempts, while Jessica Black added four.
Thomalla picked up where the Prairie Wolves left off in the second quarter, knocking down two shots from behind the arc for the first two 3-pointers of her collegiate career. Waldorf found an offensive spark with a 5-0 run midway through the period as Nebraska Wesleyan went more than two minutes without scoring. Brynn Sebek ended the drought with a layup, helping the Prairie Wolves carry a 38-26 lead into halftime.
Slowly but surely, Nebraska Wesleyan continued to stretch its advantage over the final two quarters. An Ashlin Jacobsen basket pushed the Prairie Wolves' lead to 61-40 at the end of the third, and the team maintained control in the fourth, shooting 46.2 percent from the floor to close out the 23-point victory.
Nebraska Wesleyan returns to action tomorrow, Nov. 7, against Faith Baptist at 2 p.m. at Siebens Fieldhouse to wrap up the Central Bank Classic.
