In early December, Dakota State
traveled to Dickinson State 2-0 in DAC Conference play
and on a five-game winning streak, The two streaks
ended very quickly as the Blue Hawks dominated the Lady
T's and walked away with a 61-49 victory. This
time, it was Dakota State's turn to play the host and
they showed why they are currently tied for first in the
DAC standings. DSU posted a 70-42 victory over
Dickinson and evened the season series.
“We just have to be tougher mentally and physically,”
Dickinson State
coach Tara Kreklau said. “We have to find a way to stay
in a game until things start going our way. In the last
four conference games prior to tonight, we were 2-2, but
they were four of our better games of the year. But
tonight, we’re not going to make any excuses. If you’re
not ready and you’re playing a team who is ready, you’re
going to get beat.”
The #22 ranked Lady T's
started slow, but Coach Jeff Dittman said their
offensive boards kept them in the game until they got
things going. The offensive
spark for Dakota State came midway through the first
half when Angie Gottsleben
entered the game and hit three consecutive
three-point shots for the Lady T's.
"That was the turning point for us in the game,"
Dittman said. "Then Amber Malvin and Angie Carr also hit
threes and we extended the lead from 11-9 to 31-11."
The long-range shooting helped
Dakota State
grab a commanding 37-18 lead at the break.
Dakota State shot 45
percent from the field in the first half, including 6 of
10 from the 3-point line. Dickinson
State made just 7 of 24 shots from the field in the
first half.
After that, Dittman said, rebounding and defense kept
DSU in control of the game. "We
outrebounded Dickinson by 23 boards, that was a huge
advantage for us. It allowed us a number of second
chance points, plus causing foul trouble for Dickinson.
Our athletes were relentless in attacking the glass
tonight."
Gottsleben led DSU with 13 points. Maria Gengler had
11; Jill Hansen and Stacy Dunklau added eight; and
Madison native Casey Simpson scored four.
DSU's Laura Tewes led in rebounds with 10, Sara Nelson
had eight and Jessica VanLoy had seven.
“In the first half, we lacked the mental and
emotional toughness it takes to win on the road,”
Kreklau said. “We did not have the next-play mentality.
If we made a mistake, we would go down to the other end
of the floor still thinking about the mistake instead of
moving on to the next play. That really hurt us.”
Dakota State will continue the
weekend series on Saturday with their 4:00 match-up with
Minot State University.
