December 21, 2021

Photos credit by Karen Giles

CHANDLER, Ariz. – No. 21 Montana Western held off No. 17 Dakota State's (S.D.) late comeback Tuesday afternoon for a 60-56 victory on the first day of the Cactus Classic women's basketball action at Chandler Community College gym.  It was the second NAIA Top 25 contest for the Trojans in six days.

Dakota State fell to 11-5 overall record.  Montana Western, a member of the Frontier Conference, lifted their overall record to 9-3.

DSU wraps up the 2021 portion of the schedule Wednesday afternoon with another contest against the Frontier Conference.  The Trojans take on Providence (Mont.) in the rematch of last year's NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament Opening Round's championship game.  Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time).

 (21) Montana Western 60, (17) Dakota State (S.D.) 56 – FINAL

• Dakota State opened the game with a layup by Lexi Robson with nine minutes, forty-three second son the clock (DSU led 2-0).
• With Trojans lead 4-3, the Bulldogs held Dakota State to four points in the final eight-plus minutes.  Montana Western shot 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line to open a 16-8 lead after the first quarter.
• Dakota State was held to 4-of-17 field goals in the first ten minutes of the game.
• Montana Western started the second quarter with four straight points to balloon their lead to 20-8 with less than nine minutes on the clock, capped by a layup from Brynley Fitzgerald.
• Fitzgerald added a layup to record the biggest lead of the game at 26-12 with 5:19 to go before halftime.
• Down 29-15, Jessi Giles drained a 3-pointer to kick off DSU's 8-0 outburst.  Elsie Aslesen scored the next five points as the Trojans trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 29-23 with 2:36 left in the second.
• Lilly Gopher hit a layup as the second quarter expired, extending UMW's lead to 35-26 by halftime.
• Montana Western shot a sizzling 58.3 percent in the first twenty minutes of the game (14-of-24 field goals) and held Dakota State to 37 percent (10-of-27 field goals).
• Mesa King started the third quarter with a layup for the Bulldogs, widening their leading to 37-26 with 9:31 on the clock.
• Dakota State held Montana Western scoreless for seven-plus minutes, fueling a 12-0 spurt to regain a 38-37 lead after a free-throw by Aslesen with 2:31 left in the third.
• Jenni Weber drained a 3-pointer to end the scoring drought for the Bulldogs, earning a 40-38 lead with 2:09 on the clock.
• Both teams were unable to score in the final two minutes of the third quarter as the Bulldogs held on to a 2-point lead, despite a dismal 10.5 percent field goal shooting (2-of-19 field goals).  DSU was 5-of-16 from the field (31.3 percent) in the first ten minutes of the second half.
• Montana Western started the fourth period with a 10-2 scoring run to regain their double-digit lead at 50-40 after a 3-poitner by Weber with 6:26 remaining.
• Courtney Menning hit two straight baskets followed by Savannah Walsdorf's layup to highlight DSU's 6-0 scoring run to cut UMW's lead to 50-46 with 4:31 left.
• Trailing 55-49 with less than a minute to go, the Trojans mounted a late comeback with a 7-3 run capped by Walsdorf's 3-pointer to cut Montana Western's lead to 58-56 with less than 15 seconds left.
• The Bulldogs committed a turnover on the ensuing possession, regaining possession for the Trojans.
• DSU was unable to convert their scoring opportunity on the next possession and was rebounded by Shainy Mack.
• UMW's Mack was sent to the free-throw line after DSU committed a foul.  She converted a pair of free-throws to secure the victory.
• The Trojans shot 41.2 percent in the fourth quarter (7-of-17 field goals) compared to the Bulldogs 30.8 percent (4-of-13 field goals).  UMW hit 9-of-12 free-throws, while DSU was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line in the final ten minutes of the game.
• Walsdorf led the Trojans with 15 points and collected five rebounds.  Giles and Robson each added 10 points.  Giles contributed six assists, four rebounds, and three steals.  Robson collected six rebounds.
• Aslesen scored eight points and tallied three rebounds for DSU.  She registered a block.  Shaylee DeBeer had five points and five steals.
• Fitzgerald led the Bulldogs with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.  She had six assists.  Weber added 12 points.  King tallied eight points and 10 rebounds.
• Natali Denning stole the ball three times for Montana Western. 
• Montana Western shot 20-of-56 from the field (35.7 percent) compared to Dakota State 22-of-67 field goals (32.8 percent).  The Bulldogs were 9-of-28 from the 3-point arc (32.1 percent), while the Trojans were 7-of-33 3-pointers (21.2 percent).
• UMW hit 11-of-16 from the free-throw line.  DSU was 5-of-6 free-throws.
• Montana Western outrebounded Dakota State 37-35.  The Bulldogs outscored the Trojans 22-5 in bench points.
• DSU outscored UMW 26-20 inside the paint and 16-12 in points off turnovers.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director