Dewald leads Blue Jay girls past Midgets

• Sierra Rohr

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Dickinson High junior Sierra Rohr, middle, battles for a rebound against Jamestown senior Siri Jystad as Blue Jays junior Addie Eamon watches the action on Saturday afternoon during a West Region girls basketball game at the DHS gymnasium.

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Kyra Dewald is a sparkplug for the Jamestown girls basketball team.

The 5-foot-4 senior guard and floor general proved how big of a role she plays, scoring 24 points and busting loose early in a 63-45 victory over Dickinson High on Saturday afternoon in a West Region game at the DHS gymnasium.

“I just try to use my energy, help the team out, get them started, get them confidence and, I don’t know, have them feed off me,” said Dewald, who was 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.

Dewald sparked the Blue Jays (10-4, 8-3 West) with 17 points in the first half.

In a span of 4:20, she scored 15 points, including six unanswered that put the Blue Jays ahead 24-10 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

“She’s one of the best players in the state in my opinion,” Dickinson head coach Dan Pender said. “She does a lot of things. She’s just aggressive and that’s what happens when you’re aggressive. Good things happen when you’re aggressive.”

The Midgets never found that aggressive mentality.

After falling behind big early, they had moments of brilliance, but were never able to put it together.

Dickinson got Jamestown’s lead down to five, 44-39, after scoring nine unanswered points early in the second half.

It was a glimmer of hope that didn’t last long. Junior center Paige Peterson scored six early points as Jamestown outscored the Midgets 19-6 over the final 10 minutes to seal the victory. Peterson finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

“We had some runs and twice we had three turnovers in a row. Those kill a team,” Jamestown head coach Andy Skunberg said. “That allowed Dickinson to make a run and make it interesting again. We get a couple more possessions and shots and it makes a difference in them coming back and us keeping a nice, comfortable lead.”

Ali Moody had 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Midgets (6-10, 4-9 West) while Rachel Schroeder scored a team-high 13.

Dickinson shot 15 of 37 (41 percent) From the field but were just 2 of 12 from 3-point range.

“We’re a team that’s got to start from the inside out,” Pender said. “Right away at the beginning of the game, we didn’t get it inside. We started shooting and when we made our run, we were getting it inside and getting easy baskets there or getting it to the free-throw line.”

J: Kyra Dewald 24, Paige Peterson 12, Rebekah Horgan 9, Billie Buchanan 7, McKayla Orr 5, Miah Dabill 4, Addie Eamon 2.

D: Rachel Schroeder 13, Ali Moody 12, Taylor Cooper 7, Riley Cooper 6, Sierra Rohr 3, Meryl Kovacs 2, Lillie Meduna 2.

Halftime: J 38-25. 3-pointers: J 3 (Dewald 1, Dabill 1, Horgan 1), D 2 (T. Cooper 1, Riley Cooper 1). Free throws: J 20-31, D 13-20. Total fouls: J 18, D 23. Rebounds: J 29 (Orr 6, Peterson 6), D 26 (Moody 8). Assists: J 15 (four with 3), D 13 (T. Cooper 5). Steals: J 10 (Dabill 3), D 7 (Moody 3). Blocks: D 1 (Rohr 1). Turnovers: J 10, D 14. Records: J 10-4 (8-3 West Region), D 6-10 (4-9 West Region).

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