Second best can definitely be rewarding.

Led by Gwynn Shepherd’s second-place finish, the ISU women’s golf team tied for fifth at the Lady Badger Invitational with a team score of 968. It was Shepherd’s second meet where she finished among the top ten scorers.

Shepherd shot a 232, four shots back of medalist Sharon Park of Michigan.

“Having Gwynn finish second was really huge for our team,” said Cathy Matthews, who also landed in the top ten with a score of 237.

Minnesota took the team title with a score of 938, finishing an impressive 19 strokes ahead of second-place Purdue. Eleven teams participated in the meet.

Fiona Watson carded a 251 for the Cyclones, and Sara Linneman rounded out the team score with a 256. Kay C. Elgert’s score of 259 was not used toward the team score.

The performance was a nice lift for the team, who had just come off a disappointing 12th place finish at the Lady Northern Classic in East Lansing, Mich.

Facing all 11 schools in the Big Ten as well as Big 12 rival Missouri, the team faced some tough competition, as 15 schools played at the meet.

“We had to face the Big Ten teams as well as some old rivals, which made for a very big meet,” Matthews said.

The Cyclones ended up with a team score of 984. Shepherd led the team with a score of 235, which was good for a tie for 14th place in the individual standings.

Matthews carded a 245, which was good for second place on the team. Watson and Linneman shot 251 and 253, respectively, to round out the team scoring.