BELLEVUE – Samantha Oase earned her seventh double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but a tough defensive second quarter sank Dickinson State (5-11, 0-2) against Bellevue University (8-8, 2-0) as they fell 69-60.

Oase scored six points in the first four and a half minutes of the game as the teams battled to an 8-8 tie, but both offenses went cold from there, combining for only five points the rest of the quarter as Dickinson State went into the second quarter clinging to an 11-10 lead.

The second quarter has been a problem for the Blue Hawks most of the year, and Friday was no different. They scored just 11 points for the second straight quarter and allowed Bellevue to shoot 55 percent from the field en route to a 26 point quarter and a 14-point half time lead. Sunshine Vicente provided five points off the bench for DSU knocking down both shots she took, including a three pointer with time running out. Seven of the Blue Hawks' 20 turnovers came in the second 20 minutes and the Bruins turned those turnovers into 20 points for the game.

The second half saw both offenses wake up, as Dickinson State got all 10 points from Steele in the third quarter and cut the lead to just ten, 63-53 at the end of the third quarter. DSU got to within seven points at 60-53 on a Lindsay Peterson three-pointer with 3:41 left in the game, but would get no closer as shots stopped falling for the Blue Hawks and Bellevue hung on for the nine-point victory.

McKenzie Johnson went 3-8 from deep for nine points, and also gathered five rebounds, while Tinley Pierson added six points on 3-5 shooting in her second start of the year. The Blue Hawks outshot the Bruins on the night, but the 20-7 turnover advantage proved to be the difference on the night.

WHATS NEXT

DSU will make the quick turnaround when they head to Madison, S.D. to take on pre-season NSAA favorite Dakota State at 2:00 pm MT on Saturday.