February 3, 2018

Photos credits by Donald Weidler

MADISON, S.D. – Hanging on to a slim 41-39 halftime advantage Saturday afternoon at DSU Fieldhouse, Dakota State (S.D.) used a strong third quarter scoring surge to earn an 82-73 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Women's Basketball conference victory over Viterbo (Wis.).  The Lady T's won their third straight North Star contest and concluded their home regular-season schedule with an 8-7 record, their first home court winning record since 2007-08 season.

Dakota State raised their overall record to 11-16 and 8-6 North Star conference record.  The Lady T's currently sit at No. 5 spot in the NSAA conference standings.  Viterbo lost their third straight game, dropping their overall record to 5-20 and 2-11 record in North Star conference games.

Leading 15-12 in the opening quarter, the Lady T's used an 8-2 outburst to open up a 22-14 lead with a minute left on the clock.  Viterbo stormed back by draining three straight 3-pointers, including back-to-back from Miranda Nelson, to regain their lead at 23-22 by the end of the first quarter.

The V-Hawks were 10-of-19 from the field in the first ten minutes of the game (10-of-19 field goals).  The Lady T's shot 53.3 percent from the field (8-of-15) in the first quarter.

Dakota State kicked off the second period by going 4-of-5 from the field, earning a 31-25 lead with 7:10 on the clock.  Viterbo was forced to burn a timeout as they missed the first seven shots in first 2:50 of the second quarter. 

At 34-32, Kelley Criddle made a basket followed by Jamie Tebben's 3-pointer as DSU's lead ballooned to 39-32 with 2:42 to go before halftime.

With DSU leading 41-34, VU closed the second quarter with five straight points from Nelson to trim their deficit to 41-39 by halftime. 

DSU shot a sizzling 53.3 percent from the field in the first-half, converting 16 field goals in 30 attempts.  VU was 39 percent from the field (16-of-41), despite going 6-of-21 field goals in the second quarter.

Madison Doerr nailed down a pair of free-throws as VU tied the game for the third time at 41-41 with 9:12 on the clock in the third quarter.  From there, the Lady T's roared with a 21-5 outburst for a 62-46 lead with 1:08 to go in the third.

Dakota State outscored Viterbo 21-10 in the third quarter, gaining a 62-49 lead.  The Lady T's missed just four shots in 13 attempts (9-of-13 field goals – 69.2 percent) in the first ten minutes of the second-half.  The V-Hawks were held to 16.7 percent from the field in the third period (3-of-18 field goals).

DSU continued its offensive surge, registering their biggest lead of the game at 76-54 after a 14-5 run in the first 6:25 of the fourth quarter.  VU closed the game with a 19-6 run in the final 3:11 as DSU held on to the victory.

The Lady T's shot a blazing 65.3 percent from the field (15-of-23) in the second-half compared to the V-Hawks 29.7 percent (11-of-37). 

Kennedy Wagner poured in a season-high 22 points for Dakota State.  She was 10-of-14 from the field.  Britley Plautz added 15 points on her 3-of-4 field goals and made 9-of-10 free-throws.  Tebben posted a double-double of 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds off the bench.  Lindsey Vogl tallied 14 points.

Plautz and Vogl each earned seven rebounds for DSU.  Wagner contributed a game-high six assists.  Raven Patton, Shelby Vogel, Vogl and Tebben each had two assists.  Plautz recorded two blocked shots. 

Alyssa Nilssen led the V-Hawks with 20 points, nine rebounds and four steals.  Nelson scored 15 points off the bench (5-of-10 field goals, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc).  Brynn Bozich had 11 points. 

Doerr stole the ball three times and dished out four assists for Viterbo. 

The Lady T's shot a season-high 58.5 percent overall from the field (31-of-53) and held the V-Hawks to 34.6 percent from the field (27-of-78).  VU was 9-of-25 from the 3-point line (36 percent) compared to DSU 4-of-11 3-pointers (36.4 percent).

Dakota State was 16-of-23 from the free-throw line (69.6 percent).  Viterbo made 10-of-17 free-throws (58.8 percent).

DSU outrebounded VU 44-39 in the game, despite the V-Hawks outrebounding the Lady T's 17-5 on offensive boards.  The Lady T's outscored the V-Hawks 42-28 inside the paint.

It was the final regular-season career collegiate home game at DSU Fieldhouse for three Lady T's seniors – Shemika Frazier, Vogel and Wagner.

Dakota State heads on the road on Friday, visiting No. 25-ranked Mayville State (N.D.) in the North Star conference contest.  Tip-off from the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse is set for 5:30 p.m. in Mayville, N.D. 

Viterbo returns home to conclude their regular-season schedule with a three-game home stand at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis.  The V-Hawks kick off the home stand Friday versus Presentation (S.D.) 5:30 p.m. in the NSAA action, followed by another NSAA home game next Saturday versus Dickinson State (N.D.) at 3 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

Seniors Recognition