NAIA National Tournament

DSU Downs #3 Seed Shawnee State
 in Opening Round
By Terry Hersom
Sioux City Journal sports editor

Heart trouble has thrown a wrench in Amber Malvin's basketball career, but Malvin showed plenty of heart in the opening game of the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Championships.  The only senior on the roster for a Dakota State team that starts five sophomores, Malvin took charge down the stretch Thursday morning as the Lady T's knocked off 10th-ranked Shawnee State of Ohio, 59-55.

Collecting most of her 10 points and four assists in the final 10 minutes, the Alexandria, Minn., native was the steadying force in a game that saw favored Shawnee State slash a 50-37 with 4:35 remaining down to a slender 52-50 advantage with 1:50 to play.

First, Malvin drove the lane and dished off to Stacey Dunklau for an easy lay-in with 1:28 on the clock.  Fouled on the play, Dunklau missed the ensuing free throw, but the rebound caromed out-of-bounds and was awarded back to Dakota State.

Following up on her big assist, Malvin drove the wing and scored, getting the kiss off the glass to restore a more comfortable 56-50 margin with 1:20 left.

It was enough to send Shawnee State home at 25-8.

"I just wanted to win,'' said Malvin, who began treatments last September for a heart condition (hyperthyroidism) that limits the minutes she's now able to play. "My coaches told me the whole game I had openings to drive and shoot.''

"She's been limited to maybe 15 to 18 minutes a game,'' said Dakota State Coach Jeff Dittman, who actually used Malvin off the bench for nearly 20 minutes. "Our team was really happy for her to be able to contribute like that.  Amber has worked so hard and overcome a lot of adversity to be a part of this team.''

Eighteenth-rated Dakota State, 21-10, had lost a first-round game to Evangel, Mo., in its last national tournament three years ago. This, however, was the school's third first-round win in four tries overall. 
Better still, it came at the hands of a Shawnee State squad that holds the tournament record for consecutive appearances. The Bears qualified 11 years in a row, a streak interrupted just last year, and Coach Robin Hagen-Smith has guided them throughout.

The Portsmouth, Ohio, team had to scrap and claw the entire game. They trailed 29-22 before scoring the last five points of the first half to trail by only 29-27 at the intermission.

Dakota State slowly took control in the second half, overcoming a 26.9 percent shooting performance (18 of 67) with an overwhelming 62-41 rebounding advantage. The Lady T's raked in a whopping 26 offensive boards with eight of those by 6-1 sophomore Laura Tewes, totaling 15 rebounds in the contest.

"The biggest factor in today's game was the offensive rebounds,'' said Dittman. "They defended our first shots very well, but we were able to get quite a few second looks.''

Hagen-Smith agreed.

"I can't remember a team I've had out here getting beat that badly on the boards,'' said the coach whose Shawnee State team won the national title in 1999.

"You look at all these things -- we shoot 31 percent, get beat on the boards by 21, make 17 turnovers, six or seven of which I thought were unforced, and we don't get to the free throw line (the Bears were just 2-for-6 while Dakota Sate converted 17 of 24 chances). Still, we're right there at the end somehow.''

Clutch three-pointers from Heather Schilling and freshman Andrea Rudmann fueled the ill-fated Shawnee State comeback. Schilling, one of four senior starters, netted 14 points while classmate Tara Walker, a 6-1 center averaging a team-high 19.6 points, totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Dakota State, whose leading scorer on the season averages just 11 points, had the same sort of balance Dittman has come to expect. Tewes and Jessica Van Loy had 12 points each while junior Angie Gottsleben, hitting three treys, added 11 and Malvin 10.

Sara Nelson, one of three 6-2 post players in DSU's 10-player rotation, backed up the rebounding of Tewes with 12 caroms.