Dewald, Blue Jays knock Dickinson High girls out of West Region tourney

• Leslie Beaudoin

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson High senior Leslie Beaudoin goes up for a shot over Jamestown sophomore Mikayla Orr on Friday afternoon during a consolation semifinal game at the West Region girls basketball tournament at the Bismarck Civic Center Exhibition Hall.

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BISMARCK — The Jamestown girls basketball team was waiting for Kyra Dewald to get out of her late-season funk.

Dewald’s breakout performance came at the right time.

The Blue Jays used a strong second half to defeat Dickinson 68-54 in the West Region Tournament consolation semifinals on Friday at the Bismarck Civic Center Exhibition Hall.

“We played well,” Dickinson head coach Dan Pender said. “They played with a lot of heart and got after it the whole game.”

Dewald scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half. She added eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.

“She’s taken a lot of good shots, but they just weren’t falling,” Jamestown head coach Andy Skunberg said. “Finally in the second half, she got a couple 3s to fall and went to the free throw-line 11 of 12. She stepped up, wasn’t afraid and that was part of the reason why we won.”

Dickinson (7-15) controlled the tempo for a majority of the game until 5 minutes into the second half, when the Blue Jays put together a 10-2 run. Jamestown (8-13) had a 46-39 lead and never gave up the lead. Jamestown went 3 of 7 (43 percent) from 3-point range in the second half.

“The 3-pointers really helped them,” said Dickinson senior Leslie Beaudoin, who had 10 points and nine rebounds. “I think we got tired a lot too.”

In the final four minutes, the Blue Jays headed to the free-throw line and made the Midgets pay. Jamestown was 26 of 36 (72 percent) from the line. The Blue Jays finished out the game on a 10-3 run.

“We needed to be aggressive and take it to the hoop,” Skunberg said. “Dickinson give them a lot of credit, they were playing strong defense. That kind of took us out of rhythm and to get back into rhythm is shooting free throws.”

The Midgets didn’t have the same luck getting to the free-throw line and Pender said that had a big influence on the outcome.

Dickinson shot 14 of 19 (74 percent) from the line.

“They went there 36 times and made 26 and we only got there 19 times,” Pender said. “That’s a big difference in the game right there.”

Dickinson had a 29-28 lead going into halftime and a big component in the first half was Rachel Schroeder. The junior scored 12 of her team-high 18 points in the first half. She grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.

“Rachel just got after it,” Pender said. “She got some offensive rebounds for us and easy putbacks. She had a really good night.”

Schroeder laughed it off and said she was in the right place at the right time.

“I just didn’t want the season to be over,” she said. “I just tried to pick up on my half to try to keep us going.”

The Midgets have struggled in the turnover department this season. Dickinson recorded 10 turnovers in the first half and ended with 26.

“We’ve been working on trying to get our turnovers down all year,” Schroeder said. “Coming out of a game with 26 is still a lot, but it’s a lot less than we normally get.”

Ali Moody added 10 points and six rebounds for the Midgets while

Jamestown had three other players double-figures. Jade Lind posted 14 points. Paige Peterson and Kayla Thoele each had 11.

Dickinson only had two seniors this season, Beaudoin and Sara Spradley. The Midgets expect to return 12 of their 14 players next year.

“The experience down here and the experience all season, hopefully that will carry over to next year,” Pender said.

D: Rachel Schroeder 18, Leslie Beaudoin 10, Ali Moody 10, Riley Cooper 6, Taylor Cooper 5, Sydney Gangl 3.

J: Kyra Dewald 21, Jade Lind 14, Paige Peterson 11, Kayla Thoele 11, Mikayla Orr 5, Julie Fuchs 3, Billie Buchanan 2, Rebekah Horgan 1.

Halftime: D 29-28. 3-pointers: D 4 (R. Cooper 2, Gangl 1, Moody 1), J 4 (Dewald 2, Fuchs 1, Lind 1). Free throws: D 14-19, J 26-36. Total fouls: D 15, J 28. Rebounds: D 35 (Schroeder 10), J 37 (Peterson 9). Assists: D 11 (Gangl 5), J 14 (Dewald 4). Steals: D 10 (Beaudoin 5), J 14 (Dewald 5). Blocks: D 1 (T. Cooper 1), J 2 (Dewald 1, Peterson 1). Turnovers: D 26, J 20. Records: D 7-15, J 8-13.

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