October 30, 2021

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Nationally ranked Dakota State (S.D.) forced William Penn (Iowa) to 33 turnovers Saturday afternoon, bouncing back to the winning column after scoring a season-high 97 in 97-52 victory on the second day of the Holiday Inn Express Tip-off Classic at Kehl Center.  The two-day tournament was hosted by Clarke (Iowa).

Dakota State, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 preseason poll, improved to 3-1 overall record.  William Penn, a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), fell to 0-2 overall record.

DSU stays on the road Tuesday evening, visiting Dordt (Iowa) of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.  Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at DeWitt Gymnasium in Sioux Center, Iowa.

(13) Dakota State (S.D.) 97, William Penn (Iowa) 52 – FINAL

• William Penn kicked off the game by making all four baskets – including a 6-0 run to start the game – to grab an 8-2 lead with eight minutes, forty seconds on the clock after Journie Augmon's basket (assisted by Alexis True).
• Trailing 10-7, Dakota State went on a 11-0 scoring surge.  Jessi Giles capped the scoring run with a 3-pointer to give DSU an 18-10 lead with 3:12 to go in the first quarter.
• Savannah Walsdorf drained a 3-pointer for Trojans 22-16 lead with two minutes on the clock in the first.  Neither team was able to score in the final two minutes of the first quarter as DSU maintained its six-point lead.
• The Trojans held the Statemen scoreless for the first four-plus minutes, propelling a 12-0 outburst to balloon their lead to 34-16 after Walsdorf's basket.
• Miakken Vincent capped a 27-10 second-quarter surge with a 3-pointer to extend DSU's lead to 49-26 by halftime.
• The Trojans began the third quarter with a 14-3 scoring run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Shaylee DeBeer for a 63-29 lead with less than four minutes to go.
• Dakota State led 70-40 after three quarters.
• DSU maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the game, outscoring WPU 27-12 in the final quarter.
• DeBeer hit her career-high 18 points for Dakota State.  She was 5-of-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, and made all four free-throw attempts.  Giles added 17 points on her 7-of-10 field goal shooting.  DeBeer, Giles, and Lilli Mackley each stole the ball three times.
• Elsie Aslesen tallied 12 points and recorded two steals for the Trojans.  Walsdorf scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, and contributed four assists.  Courtney Menning dished out five assists.
• Morgan Huber scored nine points off the bench for DSU.  Mackley added seven points.
• True and Ally Stewart each led William Penn with 11 points each.  Augmon added nine points and four rebounds.  Morgan Terry and Averie Benson each produced three assists.
• DSU shot a blazing 55.9 percent from the field (33-of-59 field goals) and hit 14-of-28 3-pointers (50 percent).  WPU was held to 39.6 percent from the field (19-of-48 field goals) and 9-of-21 3-pointers (42.9 percent).
• The Trojans hit 17-of-19 free-throws (89.5 percent), while the Statemen made 5-of-8 free-throws (62.5 percent). 
• DSU outrebounded WPU 30-24.  The Trojans outscored the Statemen 38-16 inside the paint, 45-8 in bench points, and 28-16 in points off turnovers. 

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director