DSU Drops Conference Doubleheader On Road

The first weekend of conference play did not get off to a great start last night for DSU basketball, as the Women lost 82-72 to Valley City State and the Men 80-62. 

The Lady Trojans hurt themselves by turning the ball over 32 times in the contest, including 20 in the first half. Still, they found themselves down by four points at halftime thanks to a strong second quarter that saw them go 8/9 at the free throw line and hit a trio of three’s. Valley City came out and built their lead to double digits in the third quarter, outscoring DSU 23-14 in the frame. The lead grew to as much as 19 points in the fourth quarter before the Trojans mounted a comeback, ultimately falling short. 

Jessi Giles led Dakota State with 19 points, while Morgan Koepsell had 15 and Savannah Walsdorf finished with 13. DSU shot 48 percent in the game to VCSU’s 38, but the turnovers were the difference. 

The Trojans jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the Mens game before the Vikings dropped in a few buckets and the two sides traded buckets back and forth over the first 12 minutes of the game. VCSU would build a little momentum late in the half and held a 39-30 advantage. They would use that to get a strong start in the second half building their lead to over 20 points. DSU was able to pull the deficit single digits (9 points) and a missed three could have brought it down to six. That is when Valley City’s Logan Nelson went on a 12-0 scoring run of his own to bubble the lead to 21 points. 

Josh McGreal had 15 points, Gare Ewefada 14 and Gavin Schipper with 13. Valley City shot 49 percent in the contest and DSU 41 percent. The Trojans struggled to find consistent rhythm on the offensive end in the game.

Both sides will look to rebound today, taking on Dickinson State – Women’s game is slated for 4pm and the Men to follow, action on FM103 and amazingmadison.com