Dickinson, N.D. – Dickinson State picked up a much-needed win by smothering visiting Waldorf University defensively in a 60-44 win in Scott Gym on Friday.
Katherine Fox scored 15 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, and dished 4 assists to lead the way for DSU, while Heather LaBree went 4-8 from deep to finish with 14 points. Whitney Edwards had a big game off the bench with 10 points, while Samantha Oase scored 6 points and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds. DSU outrebounded Waldorf 43-27 for the game.
The Blue Hawks raced out to an early 8-2 advantage in the opening minutes of the game, but a 12-0 run by Waldorf to end the quarter had the visitors from Forest City, Iowa in the driver's seat after the first ten minutes.
Waldorf led 17-11 with just over six minutes remaining in the half, but the Blue Hawks responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead with 3:35 left in the quarter and they never trailed again. A basket at the buzzer by Waldorf briefly cut the lead to two heading into the break, but the second half was dominated by DSU.
A 12-0 run to start the half put the Hawks firmly in control, and the run extended to 23-6 over the whole quarter as DSU led by 19, 47-28, heading into the fourth quarter. In the final frame, DSU ballooned their lead to 60-34 with 3:38 remaining before Waldorf finished the game on a 10-0 run to close the final gap.
"It was a great team win all around," said head coach Eric Nelson. "We started a little slow offensively, but our defense was really good all night. We finally made some shots in the third quarter that gave us some confidence in the second half. We can enjoy the win for a couple minutes and then we have to focus on Viterbo tomorrow for Senior Night."