DSU basketball teams fall on the road again

Josiah C. Cuellar, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·2 min read

Oct. 31—The Dickinson State men's and women's basketball programs hit the road again on Saturday, Oct. 30 for a non-conference matchup with Dakota Wesleyan. Both teams were looking for their first wins of the season. The women were up first, followed by the men.

Dakota Wesleyan 63, Dickinson State 38

The Blue Hawks struggled to secure possession off rebounds, making each miss shot more detrimental than the last.

By the end of the first quarter, Dakota Wesleyan took an 18-10 lead, which they would not relinquish. Dakota Wesleyan center Jada Campbell controlled the lane with three blocks, four rebounds and six points in the paint.

Tigers' guard Kaylee Kirk and forward Matti Reiner disrupted Dickinson State all game long, recording seven steals between them and combined for 38 points. Reiner added six rebounds and made ten of her 19 field goal attempts.

The Blue Hawks made use of the opportunities they did have, with guard Ashlie Watts sinking two of her three three point attempts and forward Courtney Olson leading Dickinson in points with 16, making nine of ten free throws.

Despite never holding the lead, DSU were able to outscore the Tigers in the third quarter 19-16. The deficit was ten points by the end of the third at 47-37. That margin would quickly widen with The Blue Hawks only able to grab a single point in the fourth quarter.

DSU turned the ball over six times in the final quarter. They had 17 turnovers in the game, leading to 17 points for the Tigers. Dakota Wesleyan scored their last two points on a free throw to increase their lead by 25, ending the game 63-38.

Dakota Wesleyan University 96, Dickinson State 59

The Tigers took an early run of 10 points to make it 15-2 and their lead would only grow.

With a team of conditioned shooters, Dakota Wesleyan wouldn't miss their first field goal until half way into the first half with the score 29-7. The lead at the end of the half was 54-18.

The Blue Hawks didn't get much going in the first half. Dickinson's top two shooters of the night, senior guards Aushanti Potts-Woods and Bryce Knox had only five points each. Knox would heat up in the second half, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

Dakota Wesleyan shot 57 percent from the field and had five players reach double figures. Their leading scorer was forward Jeffrey Schuch with 17 points. Forward Koln Oppold put up 12 points and came away with 13 rebounds, over a third of their team total of 42.

The two Dickinson teams remain on the road for their next matches Saturday, Nov. 4. The men's team will be traveling to Montana Technology University and the women will be visiting Briar Cliff University in Iowa.