Elite Lady T's are "Danny" Winners
By Dan Holsworth
Madison Daily Leader

These Lady Trojans were named as this year's "Danny Award" winners as the area's College Team of the Year, having played their way to an "Elite Eight" showing in the NAIA National Women's Tournament last March.

    Dakota State's 2000-edition Lady T's capped a record-setting season with an "Elite Eight" appearance in the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament on the Sioux City Arena's hardwood on 
March 11, 2000.

     The Lady T's school-record 25-8 campaign also put a thick coat of icing on the basketball careers of Sheila Haack, Krista Peterson, Amy Gappa, Kazzi Foster and Kate Sizer who helped steer the Lady T's into their first-ever NAIA Tournament.

     Today, the Daily Leader awards that performance with its "Danny Award" as its College Team of the Year.

     "This (past) season was the culmination of four years of hard work by our athletes," said Jeff Dittman, the Lady T's longtime head women's basketball coach.  "They committed themselves to our off-season programs, the weight training workouts - anything that was asked of them with the goal of winning a conference championship and advancing to the NAIA National Tournament."

     After forging a 22-7 regular-season record, Dakota State's Lady T's ventured out to Rapid City, taking on its then-South Dakota/Iowa Conference nemesis, S.D. Tech, in the now-defunct conference tournament championship.

     Dittman's Lady T's matched up well against the Lady Hardrockers, held them in check, and then survived a late-game Tech surge to win the loop's title with a 79-71 win Feb. 29 on the Lady Hardrockers' home floor.

     On March 9 in Sioux City, Dakota State picked apart New York's St. Thomas Aquinas, a national tourney repeat team, 74-55.

     The next night, Dakota State then dispatched host-school Briar Cliff 58-54 in quarterfinal play.  Dakota State's string, however, ran out the next night, losing 70-55 to Northwest Nazarene.

     "This team was defined by their hard work and the sacrifices they made to reach this level of success," concluded Dittman.

     Currently, Dittman has his latest edition of the Lady T's at the 11-4 plateau and working toward further victories.

 

      
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created by: Dawn Dittman on August  21, 2000

Last updated: 09/05/2006