By the end of the first half, Black Hills State had Saturday afternoon's women's basketball game well in hand. The only thing Dickinson State could do was ward off a blowout. And even that turned out to be difficult for the Blue Hawks.
The 14th-ranked Yellow Jackets dominated the post on the offensive end and swarmed to the ball with relative ease on defense to secure a 67-36 Dakota Athletic Conference victory at Scott Gymnasium.
"It started with the way we defended," Yellow Jackets coach Mark Nore said. "I thought we defended as a group. That triggered our offense."
While DSU was coming off a high point with Friday's 71-67 win over 25th-ranked South Dakota Mines, BHSU was desperately in need of a victory after falling to Minot State 75-63 on Friday night.
With Saturday's win, BHSU improved to 18-5 overall and 6-3 in the DAC to stay in the hunt for a regular-season conference championship.
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"We needed it," Nore said. "Our back was to the wall."
The Yellow Jackets made quick work of DSU, going on runs of 14-2 and 15-2 in the first half as they built a 41-18 halftime lead. BHSU's offensive outbursts continued in the second half as they went on a 16-2 run during a six-minute span to cement their win.
BHSU showed their post skills as senior center Snjezana Dojcinovic scored a team-high 12 points and forwards Lindsey Buthe and Lacey Haughian added 10 points a piece.
Sophomore forward Alana Dykehouse came off the bench and had a game-high nine rebounds. The Yellow Jackets finished with a 45-27 edge on the boards
"Our game is centered around post play," Buthe said. "So I think our game always starts inside."
On the other end, the Yellow Jackets left DSU dumbfounded.
The Blue Hawks committed only 16 turnovers but shot 13 of 60 (22 percent) from the field.
"When you're taking shots with 5 or 6 seconds left on the shot clock, that's not ideal either," DSU coach Guy Fridley said. "Especially when they're not good shots."
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Mindy Vanderpan hit three 3-pointers for the Blue Hawks and led all scorers with 13 points. She was the only DSU player to make more than two shots.
Fridley said a lack of intensity and willingness to get to the basket doomed the Blue Hawks, who fell to 7-16 overall and 3-6 in the DAC.
"We were complacent from the tip," Fridley said. "We were waiting for someone do to it (score) and nobody did it."
Black Hills State 67, Dickinson State 36
BHS (18-4): Snjezana Dojcinovic 6-12 0-0 12, Lindsey Buthe 4-7 0-0 10, Lacey Haughian 4-6 2-2 10, Courtney Johnson 2-5 1-2 7, Brittanny Furhman 2-4 0-0 6, Bayley Chevron 2-3 2-4 6, Janna Schriber 0-1 4-4 4, Katelynn Lamb 1-2 2-2 4, Alana Dykehouse 2-4 0-0 4, Mandy Brumfield 1-5 0-0 2, Danielle Bauer 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 25-52 11-14 67.
DSU (7-16): Mindy Vanderpan 5-14 0-0 13, Elise Daughton 2-7 2-2 6, Brittany Mesa 2-8 0-0 5, JaTonn Parham 1-5 2-2 4, Jessica Eaddy 0-0 2-4 2, Katie Schwartz 1-3 0-0 2, Kelsey Boedeker 1-3 0-0 2, Teryl Norton 1-8 0-0 2. Totals: 13-60 6-8 36.
Halftime: BHS 41-18. Total fouls: BHS 13, DSU 12. Technical fouls: DSU coach. 3-point goals: BHS 6-15 (Buthe 2-4, Dojcinovic 0-2, Furhman 2-4, Chevron 0-1, Steph Baier 0-1, Brumfield 0-1, Johnson), DSU 4-25 (Mesa 1-4, Vanderpan 3-8, Norton 0-5, Ashley Bakich-Emmons 0-4, Staci Moore 0-1, Boedeker 0-1, Schwartz 0-2). Rebounds: BHS 45 (Dykehouse 9), DSU 26 (Daughton 7). Assists: BHS 18 (Dojcinovic 4, Chevron 4), DSU 9 (Norton 3). Steals: BHS 9 (nine players with 1), DSU 10 (Daughton 3). Blocks: BHS 5 (Johnson 2, Bauer 2), DSU 2 (Mesa, Vanderpan). Turnovers: BHS 21 (Alexis Krull 5), DSU 16 (Boedeker 3).
