Lady T’s cruise past Warriors
By Aaron Schneider
FOREST CITY – Dakota State University cruised to a 101-62 win over the Waldorf College women’s basketball team during Tuesday’s North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) matchup.
The Lady T’s (11-7, 3-0) converted 41-of-73 (56.2 percent) shots from the field. Dakota State shot 52.5 percent in the first half, knocking down 21 of its 40 field-goal attempts to gain a 51-27 lead at halftime.
Waldorf’s Ameh Ogbemudia (right) finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 101-62 loss to Dakota State
The Lady T’s continued to pull away as they sank 20-of-33 (60.6 percent) attempts from the floor during the second half. They limited the Warriors (1-16, 0-9) to a 24-of-69 (34.8-percent) shooting effort on the night.
Ameh Ogbemudia led Waldorf, recording double-double from 17 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot freshman center from St. Francis, Minnesota shot 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from the field
Waldorf freshman Samantha Birkes provided contributions from both ends of the floor as the 5-foot-9 guard from Sioux City tallied 10 points while turning in career-highs with eight assists and five steals.
Freshman Taylor Kurtz notched eight points for the Warriors. Sophomore Jessica Denholm and freshman Taylor Fricke added seven points apiece. Freshman Kassidy Bunger scored six points, freshman Meriel Leavy contributed five points and freshman Haley Lawrence rounded out the scoring effort with two points.
Five Dakota State players scored in double figures. Kendra Lindblad led the Lady T’s with a game-high 18 points. Kennedy Wagner and BreeAna Olson totaled 14 points apiece. Kelsey Little finished with 13 points. Sharee Galbraith provided 12 points. Galbraith grabbed nine rebounds to lead Dakota State to a 42-39 edge on the boards, blocked five shots and handed out four assists.
The Lady T’s ran a fluid offense and finished the night with 28 assists as a team. Wagner, Olsen and Lindblad dished out five assists each.
Dakota State held the advantage from 3-point range as they sank 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) attempts from the perimeter. Waldorf shot 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) behind the arc.
The Warriors had trouble getting their offense into rhythm as they committed 23 turnovers. Dakota State capitalized by outscoring Waldorf 27-12 in points off turnovers. The opportunities created from Waldorf’s miscues also helped Dakota State claim a 16-6 advantage in fast-break points. The Lady T’s turned the ball over 13 times.
Dakota State won the battle in the paint, outscoring Waldorf by a 54-34 margin. The Warriors controlled the offensive glass 14-9 and generated a 16-8 advantage in second-chance points.
After leading by 24 points at halftime, the Lady T’s continued their strong offensive attack to own an 84-34 advantage after three quarters. Dakota State stretched its lead to 55 points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but Waldorf closed out the game strong as the Warriors outscored the Lady T’s 28-17 in the final 10 minutes.
Waldorf continues conference play against Presentation College (5-8, 2-0) in Friday’s 5:30 p.m. contest at Aberdeen, South Dakota.