Midgets’ season ends in loss to Jamestown
BISMARCK — This was not a game where the Dickinson High girls basketball team could afford to have a letdown.By: Dustin Monke, The Dickinson Press
- Ally Hoffman
- Jess Herauf
BISMARCK — This was not a game where the Dickinson High girls basketball team could afford to have a letdown.
As the Midgets headed into the West Region Tournament, they appeared to be peaking. A regular-season win over top-seeded Mandan and a toe-to-toe battle with second-seeded Bismarck Century were proof of that.
But on Friday night, with their season on the line in a consolation round loser-out game against Jamestown, that resurgent Dickinson team was nowhere to be found.
Sophomore guard Kyra Dewald scored 16 points and had seven rebounds as the Blue Jays dictated the tempo and flustered the Midgets to claim a 59-46 victory at the Bismarck Civic Center Exhibition Hall.
“We just didn’t come ready to play and that’s what we’ve been dealing with all season,” Dickinson High senior Jess Herauf said, choking back tears. “I thought we were over that.”
It just wasn’t the Midgets’ night —especially after the first 7 minutes.
Dickinson took a 9-4 lead, but went silent for the next 8:27 as Jamestown scored 13 unanswered points.
Numerous turnovers pestered the Midgets and helped Jamestown claim a 17-9 lead.
“Tonight was ugly to start out with,” Jamestown head coach Andy Skunberg said. “We weren’t getting the shots in. But then we started to click.”
The Blue Jays led 24-15 at halftime.
A pair of 3-pointers from Dickinson senior Katie Hewson helped keep it close.
Offense wasn’t easy to come by for the Midgets. They struggled mightily from the field, shooting 15 of 54 (27 percent) from the field. They were 4 of 20 from 3-point range.
They also committed 29 turnovers.
“We were out of sorts,” Dickinson head coach Dan Pender said. “We couldn’t get anything going in the offense.”
Dickinson cut the lead to six twice with time to spare in the second half, but never got any closer.
Jamestown answered each time with 3-pointers from juniors Jade Lind and Julie Fuchs.
The Blue Jays (10-11) shot 7 of 14 from 3-point range.
Melissa McMillan made three 3s and finished with 13 points. Lind scored 11 points and had five steals.
Herauf made a major impact in the second half, scoring 13 of her team-high 16 points as she tried to will her team back into the game.
She fouled out with 34.3 seconds remaining.
“My number one goal for my whole senior year was to get to state,” Herauf said.
Leslie Beaudoin scored 10 points off the bench and Hewson finished with nine points, all on 3-pointers.
After pushing Century in a 59-50 loss in the quarterfinals Thursday night, it seemed like a Cinderella run was a possibility for the Midgets.
Instead they end their season with a 4-16 record after losing their first 10 games of the season and dealing with numerous injuries and lineup shakeups throughout the year.
“We came out today and we just didn’t have anything,” Pender said. “Maybe we ran out of gas.”
J: Kyra Dewald 16, Melissa McMillan 13, Jade Lind 11, Julie Fuchs 6, Niki Schmitz 5, Shelby Eamon 2, Lexi Sveum 2, Kayla Thoele 2, Sophie Steinmetz 2.
D: Jess Herauf 16, Leslie Beaudoin 10, Katie Hewson 9, Ali Moody 4, Ally Hoffman 4, Rachel Schroeder 2, Taylor Cooper 1.
Halftime: Jamestown 24-15. 3-pointers: J 7 (McMillan 3, Fuchs 2, Lind 1, Dewald 1), D 4 (Hewson 3, Herauf 1). Free throws: J 20-30, D 12-20. Total fouls: J 22, D 29. Fouled out: Herauf, Hoffman, Cooper, Dewald, Steinmetz. Rebounds: J 36 (Dewald 7), D 41 (Herauf 11). Assists: J 7 (Sveum 3), D 10 (Herauf 3). Steals: J 11 (Lind 5), D 7 ( Paige Biederstedt 3). Blocks: J 0, D 2 (Beaudoin 1, Hewson 1). Turnovers: J 24, D 29.
Tags: west region, sports, midgets, preps, basketball
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