Dickinson, ND- The Blue Hawk women's basketball team defeated the MSU-Northern Lights on Tuesday night.
In the first quarter, the Blue Hawks did a good job of sticking with the Lights early on, but a field goal by Jessica Curl put the Blue Hawks down 11-16 going into the second quarter. At the start of the second quarter, Book Janz scored two easy points putting the Blue Hawks 13-16. A couple of turnovers later, the Blue Hawks were down 13-18, but senior guard Lacey Waid came out hot and made a three pointer to put the Hawks within one point of the Lights (20-21). Ashlie Larson had a big steal and assist to Waid to put the Hawks in the lead 22-21. The Blue Hawks and Lights would go back and forth for the rest of the half with three ties and two lead changes. The Blue Hawks ended the quarter up by one (30-29).
In the second half, Rojin Karahan scored a layup to put the Blue Hawks up 31-29. MSU-Northern responded giving themselves a two point edge on the Hawks for most of the game until a couple of free throws made by Ashlie Larson tied up the game 40-40 with 1:37 left in the third. Riley Helmick scored a three pointer, but MSU-Northern responded with a three pointer of their own. With 32 seconds left Danielle Wallace scored two points to give the Hawks a 45-43 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Blue Hawks and Lights would go back-and-forth for four different tied games and three lead changes. With 13 seconds left, Brook Janz stole the ball from Aslan Gokce, forcing the Lights to foul. Brooke Janz went to the line, and made the first putting the Blue Hawks up 55-52. The second free throw was just short. MSU-Northern's, Sydney Hovde rebounded the ball, but again Brooke Janz stole the ball from Aslan Gokce and sealed the 55-52 victory for the Blue Hawks.
As a team, Dickinson State University 48.8% (20-41) for field goals, 33.3% (4-12) for three pointers, and 64.7% (11-17) from the free throw line. DSU also had eleven assists compared to MSU-Northern's five. On defense, the Hawks had twenty-four total rebounds, and ten steals.
On offense, Lacey Waid led the way with thirteen points. Right behind her were teammates Ashlie Larson and Rojin Karahan with nine points each. Senior guard, Riley Helmick had eight points and was 2 for 4 from the three point line. Danielle Wallace added another seven. Ashlie Larson had four assists and Riley Helmick had three assists.
On defense, Danielle Wallace had five rebounds and Brooke Janz had four rebounds. Rojin Karahan, Caleigh McClenhan, and Kyley Verploegen each had two rebounds. Both Ashlie Larson and Brooke Janz had three steals on the game.
"I am very proud of our effort tonight. We battled for the full 40 minutes for the first time this season. Everyone contributed and we shared the ball well. Our defense helped us win the game. Brook had two great steals in the last minute that gave us the chance to keep the lead," stated head coach Liz Lewis. "It is exciting to see the progress we are making. We need to limit our turnover and take better care of the ball. We got beat up inside and gave up too many offensive boards. The pieces are coming together and we need to keep getting better every day."
Next on the Schedule, the Blue Hawks compete against Rocky Mountain College on Saturday, November 24 at 5pm MST.
