March 13, 2021

PHOTO GALLERY - Photos credits by Cody Welu and Karen Giles

OMAHA, Neb. – Dakota State (S.D.), as a No. 1 seed in the Omaha Bracket B of the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round, raced to a 42-24 halftime lead over No. 3 seed Providence (Mont.) of the Frontier Conference Saturday evening at Sokol Arena on the campus of NCAA Division I Creighton (Neb.).  The Trojans held off Argos' late comeback to claim the national tournament's opening round championship by the score of 77-66.

The Trojans set the women's basketball program history record with 26 victories, breaking the previous record of 25 wins by the 1999-2000 squad.  It was the first NAIA national tournament for DSU since 2008 and will move on to the Round of 16 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Prior to the national tournament opening round this weekend, Dakota State was seeded No. 12 overall.  After 16 opening round brackets were completed, there were three seeds higher than DSU that lost in the opening round's championship game Saturday.

As a result, the Trojans jumped to No. 9 seed for the NAIA National Tournament final site.  DSU is scheduled to take on No. 8 seed Sterling (Kan.) (30-0 overall record) of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) in the Round of 16 on Thursday.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.  Both teams met at DSU Fieldhouse last season, with the Trojans winning by the score of 80-69.

It is the first time since 2008 that the Trojans appeared in the Round 16 of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament (Division II at that time).

All-tournament passes and single-game tickets information at the Tyson Events Center can be found on https://www.naia.org/sports/wbkb/2016-17/releases/20161005vgxdi.

DSU extended its historic winning streak to 22 games, 11 more games than the previous record holder of 11 consecutive wins by the 1980-81 and 1983-84 squads.  The Trojans, who were ranked No. 14 in the final NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, raised their overall record to 26-3.

Providence, receiving votes in the final national poll, ended their season with an overall record of 10-6.  The Argos were seeded No. 33 overall in the national tournament and defeated Omaha Bracket B's No. 2 seed Cumberlands (Ky.) 83-72 on Friday evening.

(14) Dakota State (S.D.) 77, (RV) Providence (Mont.) 66 – FINAL

• Leading 9-7 in the opening quarter, Dakota State outscored Providence 8-2 in the final 3:48 to widen their lead to 17-9.  Cheylee Nagel made a lay-up when the first quarter expired.
• DSU shot 8-of-18 from the field (44.4 percent) in the first ten minutes of the game, fueled by Jessi Giles' 11 points.  The Trojans held the Argos to 27.3 percent shooting from the field (3-of-11 field goals).  UP committed six turnovers in the first period.
• The Trojans extended it scoring run to kick off the second period, using a 7-0 outburst for a 24-9 lead after Shaylee DeBeer's basket (assisted by Morgan Koepsell) with 8:46 on the clock.
• Leading 24-11, Dakota State went on an 8-0 run to record the biggest lead of the game with 5:44 on the clock in the second.  Giles drained a 3-pointer to give Trojans a 33-11 lead.
• The Trojans maintained their double-digit lead for the rest of the second quarter.  Savannah Walsdorf made a lay-up inside the paint as the first half ended as DSU held a 42-24 lead.
• DSU shot 48.6 percent from the field (17-of-35 field goals) in the first twenty minutes.  UP was held to 28.1 percent from the field (9-of-32 field goals).
• Giles added a 3-pointer (assisted by Ashlyn Macdonald) to put extend DSU's lead to 45-26 with 9:09 on the clock in the third before the Argos made their furious comeback late in the third period.
• Providence went on an 11-0 scoring tear to cut Dakota State's lead to 45-35 after Maddy Dixon's basket with 5:11 left in the third.
• Koepsell and Lexi Robson answered back with four straight points to put Trojans up 49-35 with 4:31 to go in the third quarter.
• The Argos went on a 10-2 outburst, capped by a pair of free-throws by Brooklyn Harn to trim the Trojans' lead to 51-45 with less than 40 seconds in the third.
• Dakota State closed the third quarter with four straight points (two points each by Koepsell and Giles) to regain their double-digit lead at 55-45.
• Providence outscored Dakota State 21-13 in the third period.  The Argos were 9-of-14 from the field (64.3 percent) in the first ten minutes of the second half compared to the Trojans 6-of-11 field goals (54.5 percent).
• A 3-pointer by Elsie Aslesen (assisted by Courtney Menning) gave DSU a 58-49 lead with 8:36 remaining.
• The Argos used a 9-2 scoring run to cut the Trojans' lead to 60-58 after Kenedy Cartwright's basket with less than five minutes left.
• Dakota State answered by scoring nine straight points to earn their double-digit lead.  Giles made a lay-up with 2:06 remaining to give DSU a 69-58 lead.
• Providence could get no closer than five points at 71-66 after a 3-pointer by Kerstyn Pimperton with 30 seconds to go.
• Giles converted all four free-throws in the final 22 seconds of the game to secure the victory for Dakota State.
• DSU outscored UP 22-21 in the final ten minutes of the game.  The Argos shot 58.1 percent in the second half (18-fo-31 field goals), while the Trojans were 47.6 percent from the field (10-of-21 field goals).  Dakota State was 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in the final twenty minutes, while Providence was 3-of-3 free-throws.
• Giles led all NAIA scorers in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round's championship games (there are 16 total games played on Saturday) with 36 points for the Trojans.  She was 13-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point arc, and made all six free-throws.  She also had five rebounds and stole the ball twice.
• Koepsell added 12 points off the bench (5-of-8 field goals) for Dakota State.  Robson tallied nine points and dished out a game-high five assists.  Aslesen had seven points, four rebounds and two blocks. 
• Macdonald pulled down five rebounds and contributed three assists for DSU.  Menning added three assists. 
• Parker Esary paced the Argos with 32 points on her 13-of-19 field goals and 6-of-6 free-throws.  She grabbed nine rebounds.  Cartwright added 10 points, three assists and three steals.  Maddy Dixon had eight points, pulled down nine rebounds and registered two blocks.
• Dakota State, who is second in the NAIA in field goal percentage prior to the game tonight, shot 48.2 percent overall from the field (27-of-56 field goals) compared to Providence 42.9 percent (27-of-63 field goals).  The Trojans hit 7-of-18 3-pointers (38.9 percent) and held the Argos to 4-of-20 3-pointers (20 percent).
• DSU converted 16-of-19 from the free-throw line (84.2 percent).  UP was 8-of-9 free-throws (88.9 percent).
• The Argos outrebounded the Trojans 37-31. 
• Dakota State outscored Providence 10-0 in fast-break points, 46-44 inside the paint and 23-8 in bench points.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director