Boedeker shines as Hawks soar

There wasn't much Jamestown College could do to stop Dickinson State's two-woman show on Saturday afternoon.

If Kelsey Boedeker wasn't hitting shots on the outside, it seemed like Kia Herbel was doing damage on the inside.

The duo proved too much for the 25th-ranked Jimmies to handle as they combined for 52 points in the 13th-ranked Blue Hawks' 77-68 Dakota Athletic Conference victory at Scott Gymnasium.

"We're so dynamic," Boedeker said. "They just can't stop one part of our game."

There's no denying that.

Boedeker hit four 3-pointers and knocked down several shots from within eight feet as she scored a career-high 31 points and helped the Blue Hawks (19-6, 10-2 DAC) finish undefeated at Scott Gymnasium during the conference season.

If DSU can win at Mayville State next Wednesday and beat Dakota State on the road Thursday, they'll win the regular-season DAC title and clinch home-court advantage throughout the conference tournament.

"I'm proud of this team," DSU coach Guy Fridley said. "That was one of our goals."

Herbel finishing 9 of 10 from the field didn't hurt DSU's cause either.

The 6-foot-2 junior center was too much for the Jimmies to handle in the paint as she scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

"We did a nice job getting inside-outside," Fridley said. "That's when we're good is when we're getting inside-outside touches."

Boedeker, who had 18 points in the first half, tied her previous career high of 29 points when she sank a 3-pointer from the left wing with 12:43 remaining in the second half, putting DSU ahead 55-44.

But a quick Jamestown time out cooled off the hot-handed sophomore guard - not to mention the rest of her team - and helped the Jimmies put together an eight-point run that cut DSU's lead to 55-53 with 9:15 remaining.

DSU finally snapped its three-and-a-half minute cold streak when Kelly Pankratz came off the bench and heated things up.

Pankratz hit a pair of free throws and scored 11 of DSU's next 16 points as it built a 71-58 lead with 4:28 to play.

The Blue Hawks held tough from there, despite a great effort in the post by Jamestown senior Heidi Feichtner, who scored her team's final five points and kept them within striking distance down the stretch. She finished with 15 points.

"I thought we had them on their heels a little bit," Jamestown coach Mark Weist said. "It just seemed like one shot got them momentum back on their side."

The game was close throughout, especially in the first half when it seemed like nearly every Blue Hawk other than Boedeker and Herbel was struggling to put the ball in the hole.

Ali Edwards banked in a running 3-pointer to cut DSU's halftime lead to 37-34 and gave the Jimmies (17-7, 7-5 DAC) a boost heading into the second half.

But stopping Boedeker and Herbel proved too difficult. The duo scored DSU's first 18 points of the second half.

One of the few areas the Blue Hawks struggled was from the free-throw line where they finished 11 of 21.

It also seemed like the only place Boedeker couldn't get a shot to fall. She was 3 of 9 from the line but made her last two as DSU closed out the game.

"We always talk about adversity and having to battle through it," Fridley said. "The free-throw line was our adversity and we battled through it."

JAMESTOWN COLLEGE (17-7, 7-5 DAC): Heidi Fiechtner 6-11 3-6 15, Allison Epping 4-6 2-2 10, Ali Edwards 1-5 7-8 10, Kellie Schuneman 2-6 3-3 7, Mara Paulson 3-8 1-2 7, Jackie Hust 3-7 0-0 7, Mindy Clark 2-4 0-0 5, Stacey Nygaard 1-1 0-0 3, Amanda Rantapaa 1-6 0-0 2, Dakota Anderson 0-2 2-5 2, Nicole Ahlers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-57 18-26 68.

DICKINSON STATE (19-6, 10-2 DAC): Kelsey Boedeker 12-17 3-9 31, Kia Herbel 9-10 3-6 21, Kelly Pankratz 4-7 2-2 11, Kylee Bittner 2-4 0-0 6, Ashley Emmons 2-9 1-3 6, Jennifer Marquez 0-3 0-0 0, Mindy Vanderpan 0-1 0-0 0, Staci Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Krystal Burns 0-1 0-0 0, Michelle Kubas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-57 11-22 77.

Halftime: DSU 37-35. Total fouls: JC 22, DSU 23. 3-point goals: JC 4-18 (Hust 1-2, Edwards 1-3, Clark 1-2, Nygaard 1-1, Schuneman 0-3, Rantapaa 0-5, Fiechtner 0-1, Ahlers 0-1), DSU 8-20 (Boedeker 4-6, Bittner 2-4, Pankratz 1-2, Emmons 1-5, Marquez 0-1, Vanderpan 0-1, Moore 0-1). Rebounds: JC 34 (Paulson 11), DSU 32 (Herbel 11). Assists: JC 12 (Anderson 4), DSU 14 (two with 4). Steals: JC 6 (Hust 2), DSU 2 (two with 1). Blocks: JC 4 (Edwards 2), DSU 5 (Herbel 3). Turnovers: JC 10 (three with 2), DSU 13 (Boedeker 5).