Bygate, Blue Hawks cruise by Bravehearts

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KYLE, S.D. — Jess Bygate had a season-high 26 points as the Dickinson State women’s basketball team picked up an easy victory over Oglala Lakota College on Thursday night.

Bygate finished 11 of 17 from the field as the 6-foot-1 sophomore center from New Zealand used her size advantage in the post to dominate the Bravehearts, who don’t have a player taller than 5-8.

Freshman Lorna Shepherd added 18 points. Sophomore Janae Moore and junior Mariah Duran each had nine points and senior Yianna Nadeau added eight for the Blue Hawks (3-4), who won for the first time since beating the University of Manitoba on back to back nights Nov. 26 and 27.

DSU led 52-24 at halftime and cruised from there.

“We came out from the start and got a pretty big lead early and our scoring was really balanced,” DSU head coach Caleb Harrison said.

Harrison said the Blue Hawks are helped when Bygate and Moore, a 5-11 forward, get going offensively.

“It gives us an inside presence,” Harrison said. “It seems like they play better when they rebounds.

“Generally, we defended well and we rebounded well. Our offense had a little more continuity to it, a little more rhythm to it. We’ve got a ways to go, but it was definitely an improvement from the previous weekend.”

Alyssa Looks Twice had 33 points to lead Oglala Lakota.

DSU visits South Dakota Mines at 2 p.m. Saturday.

A complete box score from this game was unavailable.

Tags: dsu blue hawks, college basketball, oglala lakota bravehearts, blue hawks, sports, basketball