December 1, 2023

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) returned home at DSU Fieldhouse Friday evening for the first time since Nov. 13, hosting their own home tournament with a pair of North Star Athletic Association teams and a pair from the Continental Athletic Conference.  Seven Trojan players hit double digits, fueling to a school record 18 3-pointers to extend their winning streak to seven games after a 99-85 victory over the Bobcats.

It was the season high in points for Dakota State, the fourth time this season that the Trojans scored at least 90 points.

DSU, who is currently ranked No. 15 in the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, ballooned their home court winning streak to 19 games since the 2021-22 season.  Dakota State raised their overall record to 7-2, while College of the Ozarks (receiving votes in the national poll), dropped to 6-3.

The NSAA conference went to a 2-0 record on the first day of the tournament.  Dickinson State (N.D.) defeated Haskell (Kan.) 70-57 in the earlier game.

The second day of the tournament concludes Saturday afternoon with the College of the Ozarks taking on Dickinson State at 2 p.m.  Dakota State plays Haskell at 4 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.

#15 Dakota State (S.D.) 99, (RV) College of Ozarks (Mo.) 85 – FINAL

Dakota State ignited the opening game with two consecutive 3-pointers from Lilli Mackley (assisted by Savannah Walsdorf) and Morgan Huber (assisted by Angela Slattery).  DSU led 6-2 with nine minutes, nineteen seconds on the clock in the first period.

The Trojans broke a 10-10 tie after an 8-0 outburst, capped by a steal by Slattery followed by her basket for an 18-10 lead with 3:48 to go in the first.

Kayley Frank scored the final eight points of the first quarter, including final six straight points during Ozarks' 10-0 scoring run for their first lead of the game at 20-18 with 1:24 to go in the first period.

Oliver Ritter drained a 3-pointer to close the first quarter (assisted by Huber) as the Trojans regained their lead at 24-22.

College of the Ozarks shot 52.9 percent from the field in the first ten minutes (9-of-17 field goals) compared to Dakota State 44.4 percent (8-of-18 field goals).

After going through the tightly contested early second quarter, the Bobcats regained their lead at 32-30 with 6:37 on the clock after a basket by Logan Jones.

The Trojans quickly answered with a 9-0 scoring run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Ritter and Caitlin Dyer and capped by a 3-point play by Huber for 39-32 lead with 5:24 remaining in the second.

Ozarks could get no closer than one point at 42-41 after a pair of free throws from Jones with 3:49 left. 

Leading 48-45, Dakota State went on a 7-0 closing run in the final 55 seconds of the second quarter.  Slattery drained a 3-pointer (assisted by Walsdorf) to earn the first double digit lead of the game, closing the first half with a 55-45 lead.
 
DSU outscored Ozarks 31-23 in the second period.

The Trojans shot 48.6 percent from the field in the first half (18-of-37 field goals) compared to the Bobcats 48.7 percent (19-of-39 field goals).  The Trojans were 9-of-26 from the 3-point arc, while the Bobcats were held to 1-of-9 from the 3-point line.

DSU extended their scoring run to 10-0 to kick off the third quarter, thanks to Mackley's 3-pointer (assisted by Dyer), ballooning their lead to 58-45 with 9:44 on the clock.

College of the Ozarks went on an 8-3 scoring run to trim DSU's lead to 61-55 with 6:50 left in the third after Frank's basket.

Dakota State maintained their lead between 9- and 15 points for the rest of the third quarter before producing the biggest lead of the game.

Walsdorf made a layup (assisted by Tabor Teel) for DSU's largest lead of the game at 82-65 with less than 30 seconds to go in the third.

Frank nailed down a pair of free-throws just before the third quarter expired as the Bobcats trimmed Trojans' lead to 82-70.

Dakota State outscored Ozarks 27-25 in the third quarter.

The Trojans never trailed for the rest of the game, holding their double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter.  Huber hit a 3-pointer (assisted by Mackley) for another biggest lead of the game at 93-76 with less than seven minutes to go in the game.

Dakota State outscored College of the Ozarks 17-15 in the fourth quarter.  DSU was 45.2 percent from the field in the final twenty minutes (14-of-31 field goals), including 9-of-21 3-pointers.  Ozarks shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33 field goals) and 2-of-7 from the 3-point line.

Walsdorf led the Trojans with a double-double of 20 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.  She was 9-of-16 from the field.  She dished out five assists and stole the ball three times.  Mackley added 15 points and four assists.  Huber scored 15 points on her 5-of-8 field goals, including 4-of-7 3-pointers.

Ritter scored a career-high 14 points off the bench for Dakota State.  Dyer added 11 points and two assists.  Slattery and Cierra Watkins each registered 10 points.  Slattery produced a double-double with 11 rebounds.  Slattery and Mackley each contributed four assists.  Mackley had two blocked shots.  Teel grabbed seven rebounds.

Frank poured in a game-high 35 points on her 11-of-22 field goals and converted 13-of-16 free-throws for College of the Ozarks.  Susanna Moran added a double-double of 21 points and collected 18 rebounds.  She was 10-of-13 from the field.  Jones tallied 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Blythe Benefield tallied seven assists and six points for the Bobcats. 

Dakota State shot 47.1 percent overall from the field (32-of-68 field goals), including hitting a season-high 18 3-pointers in 47 tries (38.3 percent).  College of the Ozarks shot 45.8 percent (33-of-72 field goals) and 3-of-16 from the 3-point arc. 

DSU hit 17-of-22 free-throws (77.3 percent) to Ozarks 16-of-20 free-throws (80 percent).

The Bobcats outrebounded the Trojans 40-37.
 
Dakota State outscored College of the Ozarks 28-2 in bench points and 14-6 in fast-break points.  Ozarks, however, outscored DSU 52-29 inside the paint and 17-5 in second chance points.