November 19, 2021

Photos credits by Karen Giles

MAYVILLE, N.D. – It was the tale of two quarters in the first half between No. 19 ranked Dakota State (S.D.) and Valley City State (N.D.) on the first day of the Dakota Clash women's basketball tournament at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse, hosted by Mayville State (N.D.).  Holding a 41-36 halftime lead, the Trojans outscored the Vikings 36-23 in the final twenty minutes of the game for a 77-59 non-conference victory.

Dakota State lifted their overall record to 6-3.  Valley City State is 2-4 overall record.

DSU takes on Mayville State, who defeated Presentation (S.D.) 75-47 in the night cap, to close out the Dakota Clash tournament.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from Lewy Lee Fieldhouse on the campus of MSU.

(19) Dakota State (S.D.) 77, Mayville State (N.D.) 59 – FINAL

• Dakota State scored the first seven points of the game by three different scorers – Lexi Robson, Courtney Menning, and Savannah Walsdorf – to race to a 7-0 lead with nine minutes, thirteen seconds on the clock.
• Shaylee DeBeer drained a 3-pointer (assisted by Robson) to balloon DSU's lead to 15-2 with 7:33 to go in the first quarter.
• Elsie Aslesen made a layup with 2:24 on the clock (assisted by Walsdorf) to produce the biggest lead of the first quarter at 25-9.
• Dakota State shot a sizzling 61.1 percent from the field (11-of-18 field goals, including 4-of-7 3-pointers) to grab a 28-15 lead by the end of the first quarter.  VCSU was held to 4-of-13 field goals (30.8 percent).
• Morgan Huber hit a 3-pointer (assisted by Menning) to balloon to their lead to 31-13 with 9:47 to go in the second period.
• Valley City State went on a 21-7 scoring tear to trim DSU's lead to 38-34 after a lay-up by Taryn Dieterle with 1:40 left before halftime.
• The Vikings outscored the Trojans 23-13 in the second quarter, hanging on to a five-point lead for DSU.
• VCSU shot 60 percent in the second period (9-of-15 field goals) and held DSU to 44.4 percent (4-of-9 field goals).  DSU went 4-of-5 from the 3-point arc in the final ten minutes of the first half.
• The Vikings could get no closer than three points at 41-38 after Emma Nielsen's basket (assisted by Allie Critchley) with 9:24 on the clock in the third period.
• DSU maintained their lead for the rest of the third quarter, stretching their lead to 58-48 by the end of the period.
• Both teams struggled to score in the first two-and-half plus minutes.  DSU snapped their scoring drought with a lay-up by Robson with 7:14 remaining, widening their lead to 60-48.
• The Vikings ended their scoring drought for nearly four minutes in of the fourth quarter (DSU led 64-50 with 6:09 left).
• Dakota State recorded its biggest lead of the game at 71-50 after Robson's lay-up (assisted by Jessi Giles) with 3:35 remaining.
• The Trojans outscored the Vikings 19-11 in the final ten minutes of the game to secure their victory.
• Robson went 6-of-8 from the field to score 14 points for Dakota State.  She dished out four assists.  Walsdorf added 13 points (4-of-8 field goals and 3-of-4 free-throws).
• Menning tallied nine points and produced five assists for DSU.  Huber added nine points off the bench.  Giles, DeBeer, and Angela Slattery each had eight points.  Miakken Vincent had six points.
• Giles produced four assists for the Trojans.  Aslesen pulled down five rebounds and registered two blocked shots. 
• Walsdorf stole the ball three times for Dakota State.  Menning, Robson, DeBeer, and Huber each recorded two steals.
• Adriana Torres shot 7-of-10 from the field to pour in a game-high 18 points for the Vikings.  Hailey Roberts added eight points.  Dieterle scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. 
• Critchley stole the ball four times for VCSU. 
• Dakota State shot 27-of-59 from the field (45.8 percent).  The Trojans hit a season-high 15 3-pointers in 29 tries (51.7 percent).  Valley City State was 44.7 percent from the field (21-of-47 field goals).  The Vikings hit 5-of-11 3-pointers.
• VCSU converted 12-of-19 free-throws (63.2 percent).  DSU was 8-of-10 free-throws (80 percent). 
• The Vikings outrebounded the Trojans 32-29 in the game.
• Dakota State outscored Valley City State 31-12 in bench points.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director