Sports

Ladyjacks split at weekend in Minnesota

By Tyler Ohmann

01/08/2013

A trip to Thief River Falls, Minn. kicked off the second half of the Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) Ladyjacks basketball season.

The two-game trip saw the Ladyjacks split a pair of games against other two-year schools, one was a Ladyjacks 65-56 win over Rainy River, the other a 76-57 loss to host Northland Community College.
The win came on Friday as the Ladyjacks started their second half in strong fashion.

“It’s always nice to start the second half of the season; with a win,” stated Ladyjacks head coach Wayne Johnson. “We played well enough to get the job done but certainly we were not as sharp as our last two games before the break. That’s to be expected as we only had two days back to get back in basketball mode.”

The Ladyjacks were out shot in the contest by two percent, but sunk 75 percent of their free throws and hit seven three pointers to gain the win. However, it was defense that Johnson praised.

“I thought we defended really well in the first half and that was a key,” Johnson stated. “We wore down a bit in the second half and let the Voyageurs back in the game but made enough plays to stay the course.”

Sophomore Shakira Walker led the Ladyjacks with a double-double, 24 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Jordyn Sondrol also pulled down a double-double with 11 points and a team-best 15 rebounds. Also in double digits for DCB were sophomores Josie Degagne (11 points) and Jackie Miller (10 points).

On Saturday it was the opposite story for DCB as host the Northland Community College (NCC) Pioneers downed DCB by nine.

The Pioneers opened up a big lead late in the first half and led by 14 at halftime. The Ladyjacks clawed back in the second half, but didn’t make enough of a run to get the win.

“This one was a bit of a learning experience on our way back from the break,” Johnson stated. “They have a very nice team and certainly presented a challenge. I thought we played so well for the first 10 minutes.”

Walker again was the leader for DCB as she dropped a team-best 25 points and also grabbed 10 boards for her second straight double-double. Also in double figures for the Ladyjacks were Degagne (13 points) and Sondrol (10 rebounds).

“We jumped out to a 6-0 lead and held the lead for the first quarter of the game. Again we wore down and allowed too many transition baskets and too much penetration.” Johnson stated. “As fatigue set in we fouled frequently, which led to a big discrepancy from the foul line.”

The Pioneers were 24-of-36 from the line, while DCB shot just 9-for-17 from the charity stripe.

“We were outscored by 15 from the line and that cannot happen for us to be successful,” Johnson stated. “I thought we battled but just didn’t have the legs to get the job done.”

The Ladyjacks (5-8) will host the Minot Air Force Base at 8 p.m., on Friday for their next game.

“They will present another good challenge as the base generally has a very solid team,” Johnson stated.