January 28, 2020

PHOTO GALLERY - Photos credits by Cody Welu, Donald Weidler and Karen Giles

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) never trailed for forty minutes in the North Star Athletic Association women's basketball conference contest Tuesday evening at DSU Fieldhouse, rolling to an 83-58 victory over Presentation (S.D.).  The Trojans extended their season-high winning streak to four games, the first four-game winning streak since the 2007-08 season (both overall and home winning streak).

Dakota State secured its home court winning record, holding an 8-5 record after the victory.  The Trojans raised its overall record to 10-12 and moved into a two-way tie for fourth-place in the NSAA conference standings with Viterbo (Wis.) with a 4-3 record.  Presentation fell to 1-17 overall record, their 17th straight defeat and remained wineless in seven North Star contests.

DSU and PC will meet for the second NSAA conference meeting on Friday, Feb. 7.  Tuesday's game was the make-up game from Jan. 18 due to severe winter storm that impacted the Midwest region.

The Trojans kick off the second-half portion of the North Star conference schedule in a key match-up at Viterbo on Friday.  The game is set to be played at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis. at 5:30 p.m.  Presentation returns home on Friday evening, hosting Valley City State (N.D.) at Strode Center with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off time.

Dakota State (S.D.) 83, Presentation (S.D.) 58 – FINAL

• Dakota State raced to a 10-2 lead in the first two minutes and eighteen seconds of the game.  The Trojans started the game by making 4-of-5 field goals, capped by a 3-pointer by Jessi Giles to give DSU an early eight-point lead.
• The Saints were forced to burn their first timeout of the at 7:41 on the clock, then answered with a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to 10-7 after a 3-pointer by Tone' Oglesby with 7:02 left in the first.
• DSU went on a 10-0 scoring tear as they balloon their lead to 20-7 with 4:46 to go in the first, thanks to Savannah Walsdorf's seven points during the outburst as well as Lexi Robson's 3-pointer.
• A basket by Shaylee DeBeer gave the Trojans a 25-14 lead over the Saints by the end of the first quarter.  DSU was 10-of-18 from the field in the first ten minutes of the game (55.6 percent) compared to PC 6-of-16 field goals (37.5 percent).
• Sidney Fick drained a 3-pointer (assisted by Giles) to give Dakota State its largest lead of the first-half at 32-17 with 8:15 left in the second.
• Presentation then went on a 7-0 scoring run from three different scorers – Aimee Campbell, Jada Campbell and Oglesby – as they cut DSU's lead to 32-24 with 5:36 to go before halftime.
• Riley Peters hit a pair of free-throws to give Dakota State a 46-33 lead by halftime.  The Trojans were 41.9 percent from the field (13-of-31 field goals) in the first-half compared to the Saints 41.4 percent (12-of-29 field goals).
• A basket by Morgan Koepsell ballooned DSU's lead to 51-33 with 6:47 on the clock in the third period. 
• PC held the Trojans to six points in a span of 4:45, fueling a 16-6 scoring spurt to reduce DSU's lead to 57-49 after a 3-pointer by Lynnae Mitchell with 2:02 remaining in the third.
• Dakota State led 60-50 after three quarters.  Both teams struggled from the field in the first ten minutes of the second-half, with the Saints shooting 33.3 percent (5-of-15 field goals) and the Trojans shooting 26.7 percent (4-of-15 field goals).
• DSU opened the fourth quarter by scoring six straight points after a basket by Giles followed by four straight points by Walsdorf to extend their lead to 66-50 with 8:44 remaining.
• The Trojans outscored the Saints 23-8 in the final quarter to secure the victory.  DSU was 35.1 percent from the field in the second-half (13-of-37 field goals) and limited PC to 30.4 percent (7-of-23 field goals).
• Walsdorf posted her third double-double this season for Dakota State.  She tallied season-highs 23 points and 14 rebounds in the game.  She was 9-of-11 from the field and converted 4-of-5 free-throws.
• Fick and Lindsey Vogl each added 11 points for the Trojans.  Giles had 10 points.  Peters scored eight points off the bench.
• Cheylee Nagel and Lex Evans each pulled down five rebounds for DSU.  Koepsell, Giles, Ashlyn Macdonald and Courtney Menning each added four rebounds.  Giles had four assists.  Macdonald stole the ball four times and produced three assists.  Menning had three steals.
• Jada Campbell led the Saints with a double-double of 18 points and collected 11 rebounds.  She also had three blocks.  Oglesby added 15 points.  Mitchell had nine points.
• Aimee Campbell registered a game-high nine assists and grabbed six rebounds for Presentation. 
• The Trojans were 30-of-76 from the field (39.5 percent) compared to the Saints 36.2 percent (21-of-58 field goals).  DSU drained 12 3-pointers in 35 tries, while PC was 8-of-15 3-pointers.
• Both teams struggled from the free-throw line.  Dakota State made 11-of-19 free-throws (57.9 percent).  Presentation was 8-of-24 free-throws (33.3 percent), with 8-of-21 free-throws coming in the second-half.
• DSU tied its season-high mark with 56 rebounds in the game compared to PC 40 rebounds.  The Trojans outrebounded the Saints 18-8 on the offensive boards.
• Dakota State outscored Presentation 15-0 in fast-break points, 21-7 in points off turnovers, 32-18 inside the paint, 16-3 in second-chance points and 34-6 in bench points.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director