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Dakota State University's Lady Trojans are a game away from
a return NAIA National Women's Tournament appearance.
That's after Saturday's solid 76-57 defeat of Mayville State
University in a DAC-10 Postseason Tournament semifinal in
the DSU Fieldhouse.
"This was a great performance by our team at both ends
of the court," said Jeff Dittman, who saw his Lady T's
run their record to 19-11. "Our defense limited
Mayville's offense to only 57 points. Mayville had
averaged 73 points a game this season. At the
offensive end, we shot 46 percent from the field and had
five athletes in double-figure scoring. We also
dominated the boards, outrebounding them 44-31."
The Lady T's will travel to Dickinson, N.D., Tuesday to play
Dickinson State (26-4) for the tournament championship and a
berth in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament in Sioux
City, Iowa. In the other conference semifinal
Saturday, Dickinson State beat South Dakota Tech 73-56.
On Dec. 14 in Dickinson., the Lady T's fell 66-44 to
Dickinson State, and on Jan. 24 in Madison, the Lady T's
suffered a hard fought 52-49 decision to Dickinson. 
Jessica Honermann spearheaded DSU's offense on Saturday,
garnering 16 points on 7-of-9 field goal shooting.
Hali McClelland got 13 points via 5-of-10 field goal
shooting, while Mandy Kruger and Amy Balk each had 12 points
and Jennie Sonne had 11.
DSU constructed an 11-point, 37-26, halftime lead as
McClelland came through with nine points, Kruger eight and
Sonne six in the half. The Lady T's widened the gap to
the 20-point range in the second half before settling for
the 19-point victory.
In addition to outgunning Mayville 25-18 in made field goals
and outscoring the Comets 23-14 at the charity stripe, the
Lady T's had a decisive 44-31 edge in rebounding.
Sonne claimed 10 caroms, while Honermann had seven and
McClelland six. Balk also had seven assists, Honermann
six and Kruger had four.
"Jessica had an outstanding all-around game for
us," added Dittman. "Our inside game with
Jessica, Jennie and Hali dominated from the opening tipoff.
Also, Mandy hit the 3's again to balance out the
inside/outside game. Amy did a great job of running
the offense, as well as pressuring Mayville's initial entry
passes at the defensive end."
Mayville's offense was sparked by Lindsey Eliason, who
scored 16 points on 4-of-11 field goal shooting and a 5-of-6
display at the free throw line. She also had five
assists. Joelle Wendland had eight points and Kristeen
Hoffman six for the Comets. Courtney Mundahl and
Hoffman each had four rebounds.
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