Written by: Rachel Goslinga, Dickinson State University Sports Information Director

DICKINSON, N.D. – The Dickinson State women's basketball team secured their first win of the season with an 80-73 win over Montana Technological University (MTU) on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Blue Hawks move to 1-12 on the year, while the Orediggers drop to 6-7.

How It Happened –

Over the first ten minutes of action, both teams stayed relatively even as the Orediggers took the 17-14 advantage heading into the second quarter. However, the Blue Hawks started the second quarter off hot – with buckets by McKenzie Johnson, Ashlie Watts, and Courtney Olson to push the Blue Hawk lead up to four. After MTU's Madison Allen connected with one-of-two free-throws, Olson sunk a jumper before Shali Sheridan stole the ball on the next possession and drained a shot from range for the eight-point lead (26-18). The Blue Hawks would outscore the Orediggers 27-19 in the second quarter to give them a five-point lead at the half.

Both teams remained even over the next ten minutes of action as both sides of the court knocked down 17 points in the third quarter – but it was all DSU during the final ten minutes as they opened the final quarter of action on a 12-2 run to push their lead up to 15 with 7:42 left in the game. Although MTU cut the Blue Hawk lead down to five with 2:07 left on the clock, DSU closed out the game to earn their first win of the season.

From the Box Score –

Senior Courtney Olson led the Blue Hawk attack with 23 points – including a season-high 15 points coming from the free-throw line. Olson currently ranks second in the NAIA in made free-throws with 101. Shali Sheridan and Ashlie Watts added double figure scoring with ten apiece, while Lilly Kelley and Kailyn Groves added eight each. From the glass, four Blue Hawks grabbed four rebounds in Lauren Baumberger, McKenzie Johnson, Kailyn Groves and Lindsay Peterson. Senior Ashlie Watts dished out a team-high six assists, while Olson, Sheridan, and Watts stole the ball three times each.

As a team, the Blue Hawks shot 37.7 from the floor, 32.0 from range, and 70.3 from the foul line. The Blue Hawks added 36 rebounds, nine steals, 20 assists and forced 25 Oredigger turnovers.

From the Coach –

"I was very happy with our effort tonight," stated DSU's head women's basketball coach Eric Nelson. "We finally put 40 complete minutes together and got contributions from everyone. It was a total team win and I'm proud of our team. We get to enjoy it for a couple hours and then we are back in action tomorrow against Montana State Northern."

Up Next –

The Blue Hawks square off against Montana State University – Northern on Sunday, Dec. 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Scott Gym.