Sure, sure. It's still very
much a team game.
Jody Martinez, in fact,
speaks endlessly about all
the roles everyone plays on
his fifth-ranked Bethel
College women's basketball
team.
Natalie Young's role is
pretty straightforward: Get
it done.
That's what the two-time
All-American did, too, as
Bethel, Ind., outlasted
ninth-ranked Dakota State
70-67 Friday in the second
round of the NAIA Division
II tournament.
"They went to their
All-American for about 14
straight plays and she
produced,'' summed up Dakota
State Coach Jeff Dittman.
"We had a lot of people who
made plays down the stretch.
We just didn't finish the
last two.''
Young, Bethel's all-time
scoring leader, poured in 24
of her game-high 34 points
in a back-and-forth second
half that was tied up eight
times in the final 13
minutes.
She launched a whopping 34
shots, connecting on 12, but
she was also 10 of 11 from
the free throw line. And,
when the Lady Pilots needed
yet another counter-punch,
she was almost flawless.
"If it wasn't for (Northwestern's)
Deb Remmerde having such an
outstanding year, I would
hope the (All-America)
committee would consider
Natalie for player of the
year,'' said Bethel's
Martinez, whose Mid-Central
Conference champs are hoping
to succeed league rival
Indiana Wesleyan as the
national champion.
The 6-foot 6-inch coach, the
career scoring leader for
the Bethel men when he
graduated in 1990, was also
singing the praises of
senior point guard Nora
Didrick, who added 11 points
and four of just seven total
assists for the winners.
Didrick was on the floor for
over 38 minutes and was
charged with just two
turnovers as Bethel coughed
it up only eight times.
That was nine turnovers
fewer than Dakota State,
which coughed it up twice in
the closing minutes after
Megan Swecker fed Laura
Tewes for a lay-in that gave
the Lady T's a 64-61 lead
with 2:56 to play.
"Again, it was a matter of
having a veteran team,''
said Martinez, whose team
takes a 31-4 record into a 3
p.m. quarterfinal today
against fourth-ranked
Hastings. "The key was we
had to stay composed.''
Bethel's big challenge was a
literal one -- battling
Dakota State's big interior
tandem of 6-2 Maria Gengler
and the 6-1 Tewes. They got
some help there when both
ran into foul trouble.
Tewes had 13 of her
team-leading 17 points after
sitting more than 11 minutes
in the first half, hitting
seven of eight shots.
Gengler, who had eight
points and a game-high nine
rebounds, played less than
22 minutes before becoming
the first of three Lady T's
to foul out with 1:56
remaining.
Jessica VanLoy contributed
14 points and Nicole Geraets
had eight assists to go with
two clutch three-pointers
that brought Dakota State
back from a 53-48 deficit to
a 54-54 deadlock with just
over six minutes to go.
Bottom line: It was a
fitting sort of battle for
two teams with all-senior
lineups.
Young drove the wing and
drew a foul with 25 seconds
remaining, making one of two
free throws to break a 67-67
tie. Fifteen seconds later,
the 5-11 senior tied up
Geraets with the possession
arrow in Bethel's favor.
Didrick made one of two free
throws with 9.9 seconds on
the clock and freshman Bekah
Basinger also sank one of
two after a game-icing steal
with 3.3 seconds to play.
"I was dead,'' said Didrick,
the Bethel floor general.
"Every time out we had, I
could barely make it to the
huddle.''
"We knew (Dakota State) had
beaten Morningside and
Hastings,'' said Young,
citing a pair of major
triumphs that helped keep
the Lady T's prominent in
the rankings. "We just had a
little bit more than them
today.''
Dakota State, which won the
last three Dakota Athletic
Conference titles, bowed out
at 21-11, playing a
challengine schedule in its
final season with an
exceptional group of six
seniors.
"It's going to be strange on
Monday, when those lockers
are cleaned out,'' said
Dittman. "We'll have to
replace about 95 percent of
our offense and our defense
and our minutes played.
We've been in so many tough
games over the past four
years, they knew what to do
without my having to tell
them. Now I'm going to
have to go back to coaching
again.''
