Dakota
State University Lady Trojans, currently ranked 16th in
the NAIA poll, weren't satisfied with a 41-31 halftime
cushion against the University of Sioux Falls Tuesday in
Madison. The Lady T's
opened the second half with a 19-0 scoring run, leading
to a 78-46 season-opening women's basketball win.
Contributing to USF's demise was the fact that
the Lady Cougars missed their first 14 shots in the
second half. USF, which
converted just five field goals in the game's final 20
minutes, didn't score their first points of the second
half until 8:32 to go in the game.
"The 19-0 scoring run to start the second half was the
key for our success last night," said DSU Coach Jeff
Dittman Wednesday. "During
that stretch, we did an excellent job of overplaying
passing lanes, blocking shots and getting into our
running game.
Another key was the job our bench players did in the
first half when Jessica VanLoy and Maria Gengler got
into foul trouble. USF
got to within two points of us in the first half, but we
were able to open it back up to a 10-point lead and keep
control of the game."
The Lady T's 19-for-35 first-half shooting helped them
to 47-percent,
34-73 field goal shooting, powered by the double-figures
scoring of Jill Hansen, Angela Carr and Sara Nelson.
Hansen had a perfect 8-8 shooting night from the
field, including a 4-4 from beyond the 3-point arc,
accounting for her game-high 21 points.
Carr, who went 6-14, added 13 points and Nelson
had 10 points with her 5-12 field goal effort.
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Jill Hansen
21 points
8-8 from the field |
Maria Gengler
12 rebounds
5 blocked shots |
DSU's
defense limited the Lady Cougars to just 14-61 field
goal shooting.
DSU built up a huge 56-35 rebound edge, led by Maria
Gengler's 12 rebounds. Nelson and Jessica VanLoy had
eight rebounds each. The
Lady T's stole the ball 12 times from USF ball-handlers
as Hansen, Amber Malvin and Laken Nedved each had two
thefts.
"Everyone contributed to our win last night," added
Dittman. "If we continue
to dominate the boards and run this well every night, we
have a chance to be a very competitive squad."
USF was led by Chelsey Nelson's 15 points on her 5-18
shooting night from the perimeter. Morgan Campbell came
off the sidelines and scored 11 points.
Jenna Kraayenbrink was USF's leading rebounder,
coming down with 10 rebounds. Kristen
Klaassen added six rebounds and Chelsey Nelson had five.
Klaassen's five steals led the Lady Cougars'
13-steal effort.
Each ballclub had 22 turnovers in the contest.
It was the Lady T's 33rd win over USF against 18
setbacks in the series between the two teams.
DSU gets a week to fine-tune its scoring and
defense before meeting Mount Marty College on Nov. 8 in
Yankton, where the Lady T's and Lady Lancers tip off at
7:30 p.m
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