Sports

Ladyjacks stymied at Lake Region Classic

By Tyler Ohmann

11/13/2012

A weekend of close games turned into a weekend of losses for the Dakota College at Bottineau Ladyjacks basketball team this past weekend at the Lake Region Classic in Devils Lake.

Despite playing well, and being in every game in the early-season tournament, the Ladyjacks fell in all three games they played.

First on Thursday the Ladyjacks were unable to catch a Jamestown JV team as the Jimmies downed DCB 80-72.

“We were very disappointed in our performance as a team this evening,” stated Ladyjacks head coach Wayne Johnson. “Even though we shot the ball well we unfortunately didn’t get the job done.”

The Jacks got strong performances out of Jackie Miller and Shakira Walker in the loss. Miller had team-bests in points (27) and rebounds (eight), while Walker had a team-high eight assists and two steals and also added 23 points.

“We had excellent offensive performances from both Jackie and Shakira to keep us in the game,” Johnson stated. “That was great to see as they both were extremely efficient in their offensive game.”

However, the Ladyjacks were out rebounded 45-40 in the game and Johnson was disappointed with the defense and hustle in the game.

“The Jimmies just outworked us in transition and on the boards. Those two factors were definitely the determining factors in the game,” Johnson stated. “We didn’t get our defense set often enough and found ourselves in too many scramble situations. That usually doesn’t result in positive things happening and that was certainly the case tonight.”

DCB again found themselves on the losing end on Friday night against Miles City Community College.

The Ladyjacks fell behind early in the game, and although they made a surge in the second half, the Ladyjacks trailed by only four with 50 seconds left, but were unable to catch the Pioneers Miller was again the leader in scoring for the Ladyjacks with 19 points. Also stepping up were sophomores Josie Degagne (15 points) and Walker (14 points, nine assists).

Jordyn Sondrol had a team-best 10 rebounds.
Johnson was happier with the teams performance against a tough Pioneers squad.

“We played much better today in spite of the loss,” Johnson stated. “Miles CC has a very solid team with excellent size. We certainly were not out worked and gave ourselves a chance to win the game late.”

Johnson believed the defense was improved, but rebounding still needs work.

“We still were hurt on the offensive boards at a minus-six, but I thought we battled better against their size,” Johnson stated. “This was a big step toward playing the type of defense we know we need to play.”

DCB closed out the tournament weekend on Saturday with their closest contest of the weekend. The Ladyjacks watched a nine-point halftime lead disappear as the Lake Region Alumni came from behind to defeat DCB 67-65.

“We led for most of the game but let them make a run and turn it into a four minute game at the end. They won the four minute game,” Johnson stated. “Perhaps the three consecutive days wore on us but we certainly didn’t have a lot of energy today.”

The Ladyjacks battled injury in the game as Walker sat out the first half with an illness and freshman Leah Parizek missed the majority of the second half with a neck injury.

Miller and Degagne again fueled the Ladyjacks scoring attack with 21 and 16 points respectively.
Sondrol had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

However, it was an again struggling defense that let the lead lapse.
“Yesterday we showed great progress defensively and today we stepped backward. We had trouble with their size and also their penetration,” Johnson stated. “Both of those breakdowns led to fouls and a great discrepancy from the foul line. They scored 28 points from the free throw line to our eight. That was the difference in the game.”

The Ladyjacks dropped to 2-3 on the season after the weekend’s games. DCB will play next at the Baymont Inn Classic in Wahpeton for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday.  

“We have a very difficult schedule for the remainder of the 2012 calendar year,” Johnson stated. “We need to pull together and be tough for the November/December stretch.”