February 22, 2022

PHOTO GALLERY - Photos credits by Cody Welu, Karen Giles, and Donald Weidler

MADISON, S.D. – Nationally-ranked Dakota State (S.D.) shook off their slow start Tuesday evening in the opening round of the North Star Athletic Association Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament at DSU Fieldhouse.  Holding a slim two-point lead after the first period, the top-seeded Trojans set a team record for all-time scoring and rolled past eighth-seeded Warriors to a 93-52 victory.

Dakota State, ranked No. 25 in the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, won their eighth straight and their 13th win in the last 14 games.  The Trojans raised their overall record to 24-7. 

DSU closed out their home schedule with another double-dight victories for the third consecutive year.  The Trojans finished with an impressive 10-2 home record this season, recording their 31st win in the last 34 home games at DSU Fieldhouse since the 2019-20 season.

Dakota State had extended their winning streak in the series meeting to seven games.  The Trojans recorded their 15th victory in 17 meetings with the Warriors.

Waldorf ended their season with an overall record of 8-19. 

Dakota State advances to the final site of the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament, playing in the Final Four at the Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D.  The Trojans take on No. 4 seed Dickinson State (N.D.), who nailed down a game-winning 3-point shot with .4 seconds remaining for a 70-67 victory over No. 5 seed Viterbo (Wis.) Tuesday, in the first semifinal match.  Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., with the winner moving on the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

(25) Dakota State (S.D.) 93, Waldorf (Iowa) 52 – FINAL

• Dakota State was held scoreless for the first three minutes and forty-six seconds of the game.  Tina Lair-VanMeter scored the game's first four points to give the Warriors a 4-0 early lead with 6:35 on the clock.
• Ashlyn Macdonald ended DSU's scoring drought with a basket inside the paint (assisted by Lexi Robson), trailing 4-2 with 6:14 to go in the first quarter.
• Waldorf used another 4-0 run to extend their lead to 8-2 after a basket by Lizzie Garza with 5:03 left in the first.
• The Trojans shut down the Warriors for nearly five minutes, sparking a 12-0 scoring run.  Morgan Huber drained a 3-pointer (assisted by Robson) to give DSU a 14-8 lead with 1:13 to go in the opening quarter.
• Lair-VanMeter scored the final four points of the first period as WU cut DSU's lead to 14-12.
• The Trojans shot 42.9 percent from the field in the first ten minutes of the game (6-of-14 field goals) compared to the Warriors 37.5 percent (6-of-16 field goals).
• After holding leads between two- and six-points in early second quarter, the Trojans' offense exploded for a double-digit lead.
• Leading 22-18, Dakota State went on to score 14 straight points to balloon their lead to 36-18 after Huber's basket (assisted by Macdonald) with 3:02 left in the second.
• Waldorf was held scoreless for three-and-half minutes before ending their scoring drought with a pair of free-throws by Taylor Moen with less than three minutes to go (DSU led 36-20).
• Waldorf continued its scoring run, by scoring the next five points to cut DSU's lead to 36-25 with 2:05 left in the second.
• Moen hit a basket when the first half ended as the Warriors trailed 43-29.
• Dakota State outscored Waldorf 29-17 in the second period, thanks to their 12-of-20 field goals (60 percent).  Waldorf was 7-of-12 field goals and committed eight turnovers in the second.
• The Trojans were red-hot to start the third quarter, igniting a 20-2 outburst in the first five-plus minutes.  Robson stole the ball and made a lay-up as DSU's lead grew to 63-31 with 4:54 left in the third.
• Jessi Giles drained a 3-pointer to extend the Trojans' lead to 71-40 by the end of the third quarter.
• DSU outscored WU 28-11 in the third period.  The Trojans shot a sizzling 68.8 percent in the first ten minutes of the second half (11-of-16 field goals) and held the Warriors to 38.5 percent (5-of-13 field goals).
• Robson drained a 3-pointer to record the biggest lead of the game (assisted by Giles) at 93-52 with less than 45 seconds left.
• The Trojans outscored the Warriors 22-12 in the fourth quarter.
• Dakota State missed only nine shots in the second half, making 19 baskets in 28 attempts (67.9 percent).  Waldorf was held to 39.3 percent (11-of-28 field goals).
• The Trojans surpassed the all-time team scoring points 2,529 points form last year.  After the game, DSU racked up a total of 2,606 points this season before Saturday's game in Watertown.
• Dakota State used a balanced scoring attack, led by Giles with 16 points on her 6-of-10 field goals and 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc.  She also had four rebounds and stole the ball four times.
• Savannah Walsdorf added 15 points on her 7-of-11 field goals for the Trojans.  She grabbed four rebounds and recorded four steals.  Macdonald tied her career-high for the fifth time with 13 points.  She was 5-of-8 from the field and made all three free-throws.  She grabbed seven rebounds.
• Robson tallied nine points and dished out five assists for DSU.  She stole the ball three times.  Courtney had seven points and four steals.
• McKenzie Hermanson scored seven points off the bench for Dakota State.  Elsie Aslesen had six points and four rebounds.  Lilli Mackley stole the ball twice. 
• Lair-VanMeter poured in a game-high 30 points on her 15-of-21 field goals for Waldorf.  She posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.  Garza added eight points and four assists.
• Sandra Christian dished out four assists for the Warriors.  Moen had four assists.
• Dakota State shot 59.7 percent overall from the field (37-of-62 field goals) compared to Waldorf 42.9 percent (24-of-56 field goals).  The Trojans hit 9-of-24 from the 3-point arc, while the Warriors were 2-of-15 3-pointers.
• DSU converted 10-of-13 free-throws (76.9 percent).  WU was 2-of-3 free-throws.
• The Trojans outrebounded the Warriors 34-26. 
• Dakota State outscored Waldorf 25-6 in transition points, 43-15 in points off turnovers, 50-36 inside the paint, and 40-7 in bench points.

2022 North Star Athletic  Association Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director