January 31, 2020

Photos credit by Viterbo (Wis.) Sports Information Matthew Riebe

La CROSSE, Wis. – Dakota State (S.D.) shot 48.1 percent from the field on the road Friday evening, kicking off the second-half portion of the North Star Athletic Association women's basketball conference schedule with an 81-66 victory over Viterbo (Wis.).  It was the second win over the V-Hawks in a span of six days, where the Trojans won an 89-88 double overtime thriller at DSU Fieldhouse on Jan. 25.

Dakota State extended their season-high winning streak to five games, their first five-game winning streak since the 2007-08 season.  The Trojans also won their fourth straight NSAA conference victory, which is also the first time since the 2007-08 season that DSU won four straight conference games (former Dakota Athletic Conference).

The Trojans raised their overall record to 11-12 and 5-3 record in North Star contests.  Viterbo fell to 7-12 overall record and 4-4 NSAA conference record.

Dakota State stays on the road Saturday, visiting Waldorf (Iowa) in the North Star action.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Hanson Fieldhouse in Forest City, Iowa.  Viterbo hosts Bellevue (Neb.) in the NSAA contest Saturday at 3 p.m.

Dakota State (S.D.) 81, Viterbo (Wis.) 66 – FINAL

• Dakota State and Viterbo exchanged lead five times in the first ten minutes of the game.  Both teams also recorded four ties in the first period.
• The V-Hawks took a five-point lead at 17-12 after a basket by Allie Wojtysiak with 3:10 left in the first period.  Cheylee Nagel drained a 3-pointer as the Trojans trim VU's lead to 17-15 with 1:14 to go.
• Viterbo missed only four shots in the first quarter (7-of-11 field goals – 63.6 percent).  Dakota State was 6-of-13 field goals (46.2 percent) in the first period.
• With the sixth tie registered at 28-28 in the second period, the Trojans went on to score 11 straight points from four different scorers (Sidney Fick, Jessi Giles, Lexi Robson and Olivia Breske) to grab the first double-digit lead of the game.  Lexi Robson hit a field goal to give DSU a 39-28 lead with less than a minute to go before halftime.
• Giles made a layup to give Trojans a 41-30 halftime edge over the V-Hawks. 
• DSU outscored VU 26-13 in the second period.  The Trojans were 15-of-29 from the field and held the V-Hawks to 12-of-32 field goals (37.5 percent) in the first half.
• The Trojans led 43-33 with 9:15 left in the third after a pair of free-throws by Fick.  Viterbo went on 10-0 scoring outburst to tie the game at 43-43 with six minutes to go in the third period, forcing Dakota State to call a timeout.
• DSU then went on a 13-6 scoring tear to widen their lead to 56-49 with 1:22 left in the third after a basket by Robson.
• A pair of free-throws by VU's Wojtysiak cut DSU's lead to 56-51 by the end of the third quarter.  Viterbo outscored Dakota State 21-15 in the third.
• Holding a slim 58-55 lead, the Trojans hit back-to-back 3-pointers by Savannah Walsdorf to balloon their lead to 64-55 with 7:12 remaining.
• Viterbo could get no closer than seven points on two different occasions (64-57 with 6:33 left and 66-59 with 4:49 remaining.).
• Dakota State used a strong closing run to secure the victory.  The Trojans roared with a 17-7 run to grab the biggest lead of the game at 81-64 with less than 50 seconds to go in the game.
• The Trojans outscored the V-Hawks 25-15 in the fourth.  DSU was 44 percent from the field in the second half (11-of-25) and 15-of-18 free-throws.  VU was held to 34.3 percent (12-of-35 field goals) and 11-of-13 free-throws).
• Four Dakota State players hit double-digits, paced by Walsdorf with 19 points.  She was 5-of-10 from the field, with 5-of-8 coming from the 3-point line.  She also converted 4-of-6 free-throws.  She collected eight rebounds.
• Giles added 17 points on her 8-of-13 field goals and stole the ball twice.  Morgan Koepsell scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.  She also recorded game-highs five assists and three blocks.  Fick tallied 10 points and six rebounds.
• Ashlyn Macdonald had four assists and four rebounds for the Trojans.  Breske scored nine points off from the bench (9-of-10 free-throws).  Courtney Menning had three assists.
• Wojtysiak led the V-Hawks with 24 points.  She was 9-of-19 from the field and 6-of-7 free-throws.  Madison Lindauer added 20 points (7-of-13 field goals and 5-of-5 free-throws).  Natalia Leguizamon scored 12 points off the bench.
• Madison Doerr registered six rebounds and contributed three assists for VU.  Alyssa Nilssen added five rebounds.  Lindauer and Sophie Leinfelder each recorded three steals.
• Dakota State shot 26-of-54 from the field compared to Viterbo 24-of-67 field goals (35.8 percent).  The Trojans were 8-of-21 from the 3-point line (38.1 percent), while the V-Hawks were 4-of-10 3-pointers.
• DSU went to the free-throw line 26 times, making 21 free-throws (80.8 percent).  VU converted 14-of-16 free-throws (87.5 percent).
• The Trojans outrebounded the Warriors 41-32.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director