By whipping Valley city STate 86-55
here Saturday, Dakota State University's Lady T's
solidified their second-place standing in DAC Conference
women's basketball at 4-1. The Lady T's also moved
their overall mark to 9-5.
On Friday, DSU dished out a 93-57 loss to Mayville State
University.
"We had great balance from both
our inside and outside game all weekend," said DSU Coach
Jeff Dittman. "This was our best weekend of the
season. We had great intensity from our athletes
and excellent execution. Our defense and our
offense were both very focused and, consequently, we got
a couple of big conference wins prior to the Christmas
break."
The Lady T's take on the
University of Sioux Falls Friday and Dakota Wesleyan
University Saturday in the TeamMakers Classic at the
Mitchell Corn Palace. The DSU-USF game starts at
2:00 p.m. Thursday and the DSU-DWU contest tips off at
8:00 p.m. Saturday.
Lady T's 93
Mayville State 57
"This
was the offensive explosion we have been looking for",
said Dittman. "In our first three
conference games, we have been struggling to put some
points on the board but tonight was different. Everyone
contributed tonight and that consistency is something we
have been looking for. Our bench did a tremendous job,
scoring 45 total points."
DSU got double-figures scoring
from a quartet of Lady T's, sparked by Jill Hansen's 17
points, to crush Mayville State Friday. Maria
Gengler added 14 points and Laken Nedved came off the
bench to score 13 points, including three 3-pointers,
and Sara Nelson had 11.
DSU outgunned Mayville 33-21 in
field goals made and had a 38-35 rebound edge of the
Comets. Laura Tewes claimed nine rebounds and
Jessica VanLoy and Gengler each had six. DSU's
defense forced 32 turnovers, while the Lady T's just
miscued 15 times.
Dittman was very pleased with the defensive effort from
the Lady T's. "Our defense was
really flying around,
pressuring the passing lanes and forcing
turnovers. Mayville is
an excellent scoring team so holding them under 60
points was an excellent accomplishment for our defense.
Mayville got 12 points and four
rebound by Cassie Leraas, 12 more points from Gorica
Mijovic and 11 by Megan Matthews.
Lady T's 86
Valley City State 55
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In Saturday's
contest, the Lady T's were led
by VanLoy's 21 points. Angela Carr also added 17
points, Jill Hansen 12 and Maria Gengler with 11.
"We
had great balance from our inside and outside game all
weekend" said Jeff Dittman.
"Jess VanLoy hit some early
jumpers to draw the defense out and that allowed the
posts to go to work inside. Then Angie and Jill
chipped in with their three’s
and we were able to break the game open in the second
half."
DSU led 40-28 at halftime and then
outscored Valley City State 46-27 in the game's final 20
minutes.
Off the boards, VanLoy had seven
rebounds, Gengler five and Nelson four. |
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Jessica VanLoy for two of her
season-high 21 points |
Hansen also had four steals and
Tewes, Nelson and Carr each had three as DSU made Valley
City turn the ball over 28 times.
For Valley City, Darcie
Engelby collected 15 points. Loni Hall and Abby
Dralle each added nine. Engelby also had seven
rebounds and Valerie Moller four.
