Sports
Ladyjacks bounce back in Glendive
By Tyler Ohmann
11/29/2011
The Ladyjacks faltered Tuesday night against Trinity Bible College, but rebounded in the Dawson Classic over the weekend, sweeping opponents at the tourney.
On Tuesday the Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) women’s basketball squad fell 61-57 in a tough match against the rival Lions at the Woodshed.
“It certainly was a difficult night for us,” DCB Head Coach Wayne Johnson stated. “We had our poorest shooting game of the season and struggled getting into any kind of offensive flow.”
The Ladyjacks shot 29 percent from the field and 17 percent on 6-of-35 from three point range.
The game began poorly for the Ladyjacks who fell behind early and trailed 37-21 at the half.
They fought back in the second half as Jackie Miller got hot from the field. Ultimately the effort wasn’t enough as Miller narrowly missed a tough three to tie the game.
“To the credit of our ladies we battled back to have a chance at the end,” Johnson stated. “We rely a lot on the three pointer and it was not a good night for us in that regard. I was pleased with the effort in our comeback and I think that will help us in the long run.”
Miller finished with 24 points, five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Jordyn Sondrol had 10 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in the loss.
“We certainly took a couple of steps backward from our recent play but that is often the nature of the game,” Johnson stated. “I’m pretty confident we will bounce back as I am seeing good signs of improvement in spite of the off night.”
The Ladyjacks did indeed bounce back beginning with a 70-65 narrow win over MonDak rival North Dakota State College of Science on Friday.
“This was really a good win for us, especially against a solid MonDak opponent and after our disappointing game Tuesday,” Johnson stated.
Again it was Miller coming up with a solid performance in the win. She led the Ladyjacks from a six-point deficit at half time to surge past the Wildcats.
“We really came out aggressively in the second half and turned things around,” Johnson stated. “We picked up the defensive intensity and that was crucial.”
Miller finished with 21 points, 11 boards and three assists. Sondrol again was a force in the post scoring 11 points and grabbing seven boards. Freshman Megan Green had nine points and six rebounds on the inside.
The Ladyjacks had their best game of the season inside as they outrebounded the Wildcats 46-35.
The Ladyjacks picked up another win on Saturday against host and MonDak opponent Dawson Community College by a final score of 52-49.
DCB again came back from a halftime deficit, this time overcoming a seven point margin.
“A great effort by the ladies in a real ‘street fight,’” Johnson stated. “A good defensive effort was necessary on a day when we had to struggle to get the shots we wanted.”
The Ladyjacks defense held the Buccaneers to a 0-for-10 night from beyond the arc and made 18-of-26 from the charity stripe, which Johnson said was crucial to the victory.
“The game was won with this defensive effort as well as our offensive advantage from the three point line and the free throw line,” Johnson stated.
Shakira Walker led the Ladyjacks with 14 points and also dished out four assists in the close win.
Miller had 12 points and eight rebounds, but it was the bench who made the difference according to Johnson.
“Our bench came through for the second straight game as we played with foul trouble throughout the entire game,” Johnson stated. “This was really a grinding, nice team effort to complete a very good Thanksgiving weekend for us.”
The 2-1 week vaulted the Ladyjacks to 6-4 on the season.
They will travel to Belcourt to take on Turtle Mountain Community College at 6 p.m. tonight. They will then host the Winnipeg Swoosh at 3 p.m. on Saturday.