DWU Comes Up Short Against SDSU

BROOKINGS—The Dakota Wesleyan University women’s team got off to a fast start by leading most of the first quarter before South Dakota State’s defense cooled them off in the second quarter.

The Tigers offense went one for six on FG’s during a 15-2 SDSU run that lasted over three minutes and 20 seconds with 3:20 left in the second quarter. During that stretch the Jackrabbits went 4-4 on FG’s.

Turnovers were a big part of the SDSU run’s as SDSU cashed in 25 points from 24 DWU turnovers. While DWU only had five points off seven SDSU turnovers.

The Jacks didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal as they took a commanding 14-point lead at half, and ended up winning 78-45.

“They played well, we missed some switches and didn’t get back in transition as well as we wanted to in the first quarter,” SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. “After that we held a very good offensive team to 10, 9, 8 points.”

Mitchell natives Junior Macy Miller and Senior Kerri Young led the Jacks tonight with points and rebounds. Miller had 16 points, and four assists while Young had seven points and six rebounds.

“I think we are ready and excited to get the regular season under way,” Miller said. “It was different playing against people I knew like Kristin Sabers, and then the people I played against in the summer. I was excited to see them play tonight.”

Freshman Sarah Carr led the Tigers with 13 points, while Senior Erica Herrold had 9 points respectively.

Another Mitchell area native freshman Megan Bultsma, from Plankinton, S.D, saw some playing time tonight as she recorded one rebound, and one block in four minutes of

action.

“That was very special playing against Miller and Young tonight,” DWU head coach Jason Christensen said. “I remember when they were running around town while I’ve lived in Mitchell. I remember Bob Young take those kids everywhere when he was their coach, I watched them mature all the way from fifth and sixth graders to college ball. It was a very special night for me to coach against them. I’m very proud of them.”

With the exhibition game, over with the Tigers get ready for the Pentagon Classic this weekend in Sioux Falls. The Tigers play in-state rival Dakota State on Saturday and Presentation college on Sunday.

“It was a great experience for our players to play on a Division I court like Frost Arena,” Christensen said. “Playing games like this will make us better. If we scheduled teams that we would beat by 30 or 40 points we wouldn’t gain anything like we do when we play these kinds of games against tough opponents.”

After the hot start DWU ended the game shooting 36.4% overall, while SDSU shot 43.1%. SDSU outrebounded the Tigers 37-34, and had 17 assists to the Tigers 13.         

“Earlier I thought our sets were really working, and we made some good shots,” Christensen said. “Their defense got to us in the second quarter and the rest of the game. It’s hard to match their size inside and even on the wings.

The Jacks played their final exhibition game of the year, and will host the Creighton Bluejays on November 11 at 7 p.m. in Frost Arena.