Dittman's Lady T's Outmuscle DWU
By Dan Holsworth
Madison Daily Leader

     Powered by a number of key people, including the Honermann's (Heidi and Jessica), Kathy Shypulski, Jennie Sonne, and Amy Balk, Dakota State University's Lady Trojan hoopsters handed Dakota Wesleyan a 68-50 setback Wednesday at the DSU Fieldhouse.

     In a game which was postponed a day due to foul weather, Shypulski collected half of her 16 tilt-top points in the game's first 20 minutes, giving DSU an eight-point, 35-27, halftime lead to work with in the second half.

     Shypulski was helped by the play of fellow post player Sonne.  "Kathy gave us a big lift in the first half when she hit three or four shots in a row to help us extend the lead," said Jeff Dittman, DSU's head coach.  "Jennie was outstanding in the low post, scoring on five of seven shots (for 10 of her game-long 11 counters) and grabbing seven rebounds."  

Kathy Shypulski	Jennie Sonne

     In the first half, DSU pushed DWU shooters to the perimeter, where the Lady Tigers scored most of their 27 points.  "We limited DWU to only 27 points in the first half and 23 in the second," said Dittman of his defense.  "We gave up a few too many 3-pointers, but we didn't want the ball to go inside, and I thought we did a good job of stopping those options in their offense."

     DSU's second-half play featured Heidi Honermann racking up a five-point scoring run of her own midway into the period.  She tallied 13 points for the game.  

     "We were able to win the battle of the boards (42-39)," said Dittman, "but we still gave up too many offensive boards (15) for the game."  Jessica Honermann, Heidi's cousin, powered the Lady T's boardwork with a nine-rebound performance which complemented her 13-point scoring show.

     Balk, one of DSU's first-year players, bullied her way through DWU's defense, setting up the Lady Trojans on offense.  "Amy did an excellent job of breaking DWU's press," added Dittman.  "I was concerned we might turn the ball over against their press, but Amy not only got the ball up the court but also caused them to expend a lot of energy trying to trap her."  Balk wound up with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

     "Overall, I thought we made some excellent progress tonight at both ends of the court," concluded Dittman.  DSU outgunned Dakota Wesleyan 27-18 in field goals, while the Lady Tigers outscored DWU by a slim 10-9 margin at the charity stripe.

     The losers got 15 team-top points from Laura Weiers and 12 more from Emily Jensen, who also had six rebounds.  Vicki Drefs contributed six rebounds and Randi Morgan had six points.

     DSU Lady T's put their 2-0 record on the line next Tuesday in Iowa when they play Dordt College at Sioux Center.

     
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