Dakota State University -- backed by the double-figure
firepower of veterans Hali McClelland, Amber Malvin and
Ashlei Fawbush and its ball-hawking defense -- opened its
women's basketball season Monday on its home Fieldhouse
hardwood with a decisive 71-54 win over Briar Cliff
College.
The Lady T's forged an 11-point,
30-19, halftime cushion and never let Briar Cliff into the
game, outscoring them 41-35 in the game's final 20
minutes. "After we got rid of our opening-game
jitters, I thought we had some excellent
performances," said DSU head coach Jeff Dittman.
McClelland led the Lady T's to
their win with an 18-point scoring display.
McClelland, the only returning starter for Dittman, had
8-of-20 field goal shooting and a 2-2 tour at the charity
stripe. She also was the Lady T's top rebounder, hauling
in nine of Dakota State's 43 rebounds.
Canning four 3-pointers and
scoring five points at the charity stripe, Malvin, who was
one of Dittman's prime reserve players a year ago, came
away with 17 points. Fawbush, a Madison sophomore
who also saw playing time last year, was close behind
Malvin with her 14-point display, which included a 3-point
field goal and five more free throw-line tallies.
Andrea Gullickson, a Flandreau
junior and another one of Dittman's top reserve players in
2002-03, almost got into double-figures scoring, netting
nine points and adding six more rebounds on Monday.
Lindsey Binger, a Tulare freshman, also contributed seven
points, coming off her sideline chair.
For the game, Dakota State shot
22-55 from the field, including a 5-12 showing from beyond
the 3-point arc. The Lady T's were 22-30 at the charity
stripe.
Despite the win, Dittman saw
plenty of room for improvement on the offensive side of
the ball. "Offensively, we didn't make very
good decisions the first half, turning the ball over 16
times," said Dittman. "But, in the second half,
we did a much better job of reading the defense and taking
what they gave us instead of forcing the ball into spots
it didn't belong.
"We also did a much better
job of running the ball in the second half. That, combined
with an aggressive defense, got us a number of fastbreak
opportunities that we were able to convert."
Briar Cliff entered the
Fieldhouse having already won its first game of the
season, having tripped Mayville State University 55-51 on
Saturday. The Lady T's harassed the Chargers all
night. "Defensively, we did a very good job
throughout much of the game," said Dittman. "We
were able to force 29 turnovers and limited Briar Cliff to
just 21-percent shooting in the first half."
The Chargers got a double-double,
19-point, 11-rebound performance from Betsy Graf, who was
the only Briar Cliff player to enter double-figures
scoring as the Charger shot 21-69 from the field. They
made only one 3-pointer in the contest. Dana Lehner
and Brooke Bollmeyer had respective 8- and 7-point
outings. Allison Karpuk and Lehner each had seven
rebounds as Briar Cliff out-rebounded Dakota State by a
slim 45-43 margin.
The Lady T's stay at home this
week, hosting #19 nationally ranked Northwestern Iowa in a
3 p.m. ballgame Saturday. |
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to 2002-03 Schedule
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