Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State University Sports Information Director
DICKINSON - For 24 minutes it looked like Montana State-Northern (3-5, 1-1) was going to get revenge for the home loss that Dickinson State (5-7, 0-1) handed them back in November, but a second half explosion saw the Blue Hawks race past the visitors from Havre, Montana for a 76-70 non-conference win.
MSUN started the game by scoring a quick four points in the first minute to take an early lead, but DSU would respond by taking a 9-6 lead on back-to-back three pointers by Heather LaBree. After the Sky Lights took the lead back 13-11, Sunshine Vicente hit her own go-ahead three to make it 14-13 Blue Hawks. Indicative of the back-and-forth first quarter, the lead changed hands three more times in the last two and a half minutes of the first quarter, with Tinley Pierson giving DSU a 19-18 lead on a jump shot at the buzzer. DSU shot 7-17 in the quarter, including 4-5 from long range, to help neutralize a 15-11 MSUN rebounding advantage in the opening ten minutes.
In the second quarter, the shots stopped falling for the Blue Hawks. After shooting 80 percent from deep in the first quarter, they went just 1-7 from long range, and again were outrebounded, this time 18-11, as MSUN outscored them 21-10 and took a 39-29 lead into the halftime break. Second chances were the story in the first half, as the Sky Lights used their size to gather 15 offensive rebounds and continuously keep the Blue Hawk defense on their heels.
At the start of the second half, it looked like MSUN was poised to run away from Dickinson State, taking their largest lead of the game, 51-35, with just six minutes left in the third quarter. Then, Kayden Steele took over. Steele poured in 13 of her game-high 21 points in the third quarter to spark a furious Blue Hawk rally that saw the MSUN lead shrink to just five, 58-53, by the end of the quarter. Steele and Samantha Oase combined for a 15-3 run over four minutes to help claw the hosts back into the contest. A McKenzie Johnson jumper briefly got DSU to within two before a MSUN three-pointer stretched the lead back to five with 30 seconds left. Dickinson State was able to flip the script in the third thanks, in large part, to dominating on the glass. The Blue Hawks outrebounded the Sky Lights, 12-8, and held the visitors to just one offensive board.
The fourth quarter saw the teams trade points until the 6:56 mark when Jenna Jacobson made a layup on a backdoor cut to bring the Blue Hawks to within one, 63-62. Her basket sparked a 12-0 DSU run that gave the Blue Hawks a 70-63 lead with just 3:53 left in the game. After a MSUN basket cut the lead back to five, Steele scored again to stretch the lead back to seven with just 1:21 to play. Jacobson went 4-4 on free throws down the stretch to clinch the game for DSU as they moved to 2-0 on the year against the Frontier Conference Sky Lights.
"I was very happy with how our team played in the second half," said head coach Eric Nelson. "We struggled to get rebounds in the first half and dug ourselves a hole. Our effort on the glass in the second half was the difference in the game. It was a great comeback win and we finally made some shots down the stretch."
Steele led the way for the Blue Hawks with 21 points, despite going an uncharacteristic 1-6 from deep, while Oase added another double-double to her season, scoring ten points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Lindsay Peterson scored 12 points on 3-8 shooting as the only other Blue Hawk to score in double figures. Heather LaBree had a great all-around game, scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds, and dishing out four assists.
WHATS NEXT
The Blue Hawks will have some time to rest before heading to Jamestown, N.D. to take on the University of Jamestown at 2:00 pm MT on December 18.
