ORANGE CITY - Dickinson State (3-3) got at least eight points from four players, but none were able to reach double digits as the Blue Hawks fell 75-48 to (RV) Northwestern College as the Red Raiders pulled away in the fourth quarter.
On a night where leading scorer, and rebounder, Samantha Oase struggled with foul trouble, the Blue Hawks struggled to find much rhythm offensively. For a team that has shared the ball well all season, the Blue Hawks only managed six assists on 17 made baskets and were forced into 34 turnovers by a Northwestern team coming into the year fresh off a national tournament appearance.
The game started out as well as coach Eric Nelson could have hoped, with Dickinson State jumping out to a quick 13-4 lead on a Kayden Steele three-point jumper just over four minutes into the contest. The Blue Hawks were able to maintain that lead for most of the opening ten minutes, but a 7-0 run by the hosts made it 19-17 NWC with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. An Oase layup with 18 seconds left tied the score at 19 and the teams headed to the second quarter still tied.
Northwestern started the second quarter on a 9-0 run as the Blue Hawk were unable to get anything to fall offensively. With NWC leading 33-21, DSU answered with a 7-0 run of their own to bring it to 33-28 NWC with 2:24 left in the half. Just three Red Raider points the rest of the way had the teams heading to the halftime break with NWC leading 36-28.
DSU was able to keep the game close in third quarter, largely in thanks to a 9-3 advantage in rebounding in the period. Oase scored six of her eight points in the quarter after sitting most of the first half after getting three personal fouls in the first 15 minutes of the game. The fourth quarter was all Red Raiders, as they used their expereince, and depth, to outscore the Blue Hawks 20-5 in the final ten minutes and make the final score much more lopsided than the first 30 minutes.
Lindsay Peterson and Steele led the Blue Hawks with nine points each, and McKenzie Johnson and Oase each added eight points. Oase led the Blue Hawks on the boards with seven rebounds.
Coach Nelson on the loss, "It was a very disappointing game for us as a team. We turned the ball over 34 times against a good team. You won't win games doing that. We need to regroup and refocus our attention to a really tough Dordt team tomorrow."
WHATS NEXT
The Blue Hawks have another tough challenge ahead, as they take on defending national runner-up #15 Dordt University at 10:00 am MT on Saturday, November 11 in Orange City.
