The effects
of Dakota State University's 55-41 loss to Hastings
College Saturday in the NAIA's Elite Eight portion of
the Women's Basketball Tournament at Sioux City have
begun to slough off Coach Jeff Dittman's shoulders.
"This was an outstanding season for the Lady T's," said
Dittman, who saw his team reel off a 22-win season,
which ties a school record for the third-most wins by
the Lady Trojans. "In
many respects, this team exceeded all expectations, and
its run at the national title was
very exciting," he said.
Prior to losing to Hastings on Saturday, the Lady T's,
ranked 18th in the NAIA's final poll, had dispatched No.
10-ranked Shawnee (Ohio) State 59-55 and crushed No. 4
Tabor College of Bethany, Kan., 77-58.
"The Elite Eight finish ties the 1999-2000 squad for the
highest finish at a national tournament," added Dittman.
"Our win this year over fourth-ranked Tabor beats the
former record that the '99-2000 team had over a
nationally-ranked team, which
was at that time No. 5 Briar Cliff."
DSU had two other NAIA National Tourney appearances, in
2001 and 2003.
Prior to arriving at this year's NAIA, the Lady T's had
earned their 13th conference title in either the then-SDIC
or the present Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC).
DSU tied Minot (N.D.)
State for this year's DAC championship, with both teams
acquiring 10-4 marks. Included among those 10 wins was
Dittman's 200th victory -- a 78-67 win over Black Hills
State University on Feb. 4, which was the Lady Trojans'
Parents Night game.
The Lady T's scored the fourth-most points ever, 2,179,
for a DSU team, along with their record-tying third-most
22 wins.
Dittman and assistant coaches Jenny Brown and Dr. Judy
Dittman will be losing just one senior -- Amber Malvin,
a 5-6 guard from Alexandria, Minn.
Malvin provided a base for this year's team, and
her contributions will be missed, according to Dittman.
"Amber contributed a lot to the Lady T's program for the
past four years," said Dittman. "She was an excellent
role model for our athletes. She will also be one of
DSU's outstanding graduates."
Malvin leaves DSU as its sixth-best career 3-point
shooter with her 32.5-percent, 79-for 244 mark.
Nelson
tabbed Academic All-American
On Monday, Dittman announced that Sara Nelson, the Lady
T's
6-foot-2 junior center from Dell Rapids, has been
selected as an NAIA Academic
All-American.
The criteria for the award requires
an athlete to be a junior or senior with a
minimum 3.5 grade point average.
The recipient must also be a "significant
contributor" to her team
according to the NAIA award
guidelines.
On the basketball court, she was one of three Lady T's
to achieve top-three status in the school's record
books. Nelson is now the third-best career shot blockers
with 103, leading fourth-place member Maria Gengler, a
teammate who has 94, including a history-making tops 56
shots this past season.
In addition to her academich/athletic
award, Sara was selected to receive the NAIA's Champion
of Character award at the National Tournament.
"Each team at the NAIA National Tournament
selected one team member to receive a Champion of
Character award," said Dittman. "Sara is an outstanding
member of our team, university and community."
VanLoy, Carr Named to the
DAC All-Conference Teams
Jessica VanLoy and Angela Carr, both sophomores and
starting guards, have been named
Dakota Athletic Conference All-Conference recipients for
the 2005-06 season.
VanLoy,
at 5-10 from Wabasso, Minn., came back from a
season-ending knee injury a year ago to earn second-team
All-DAC honors. Carr, at 5-6 from Flandreau, was named
to the loop's third team. She is the other
top-three school record holder, rated third in free
throw shooting with her 84.7-percent
(61-72)
season's effort.
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