|
|
Dakota State's Lady Trojans won a game which they needed
to keep their postseason playoff hopes alive, pounding
Mayville State University 74-46 Thursday at the DSU
Fieldhouse. Mayville came into the Fieldhouse
occupying that eighth-place spot with a 5-7 record, while
DSU was ninth at 2-11. The Lady T's (now 3-11 in
conference play and 7-17 overall) cut that cushion by a
game.
DSU has just four regular-season games left and,
essentially, need to win all of them against Valley City
State, S.D. Tech, Black Hills State and Huron to make the
playoffs.
They play Valley City State at home Sunday, but then take
to the road, playing Tech in Rapid City next Friday and
Black Hills State in Spearfish next Saturday, before
returning to host Huron on Feb. 14 in their regular-season
finale. |
 |
Airborne
-- Dakota State's Molly Hathaway (with the ball) launches
a lay-up in the Lady T's lopsided win over Mayville State
University on Thursday.
|
On Thursday, DSU was sparked by
Jessica Honermann, who put up 23 tilt-tops points. Erin
Nielsen and Hali McClelland contributed respective
double-figures displays of 15 and 10 points.
DSU constructed a 34-23
first-half-ending lead and then put the clamps on
Mayville's offense in the second half, holding them to
just 23 more points while the Lady T's offense pumped in
40.
"We played an outstanding
game for 40 minutes," said Jeff Dittman, the Lady T's
head coach. "We have had leads at halftime in many
games this year, but this game we were able to sustain our
momentum throughout the second half. We played with
a lot of energy and when Mayville made a couple of runs at
us in the second half, we were able to hit some key
baskets to keep the lead in double figures."
On the night, the Lady T's shot a
solid 27-of-56 from the field, including an almost-perfect
5-6 from beyond the three-point arc. DSU also made 15 of
its 23 free throws.
In addition to outgunning the
Lady Comets 27-15 in field goals and 15-10 in free throws,
DSU dominated the boards, outrebounding Mayville 44-26.
McClelland led the way, completing a double-double
performance with 10 rebounds. Leah Bakke also contributed
seven rebounds while Nielsen and Honermann each had five.
"Our rebounding was
exceptional tonight," added Dittman. "That,
combined with 19 steals, allowed us a number of fastbreak
baskets. We also hit the three-point shot tonight, and
that opened up a lot of options in our offense."
DSU's defense, which forced 26
Mayville turnovers, limited Kassy Anderson, Mayville's
leading scorer, to just 18 points. Lindsey Eliason was
Mayville's only other double-digit scorer, coming away
with 10 counters. Amy Martinson was the Lady Comets'
best rebounder, coming down with five caroms.
Return to 2000-01 Schedule
|
|
