Valley City, N.D. - The #22 Comets Women's Basketball team took on the #16 Dakota State Trojans in the second game of the Dakota Clash. In a defensive-focused game, Dakota State was able to escape with a 63-59 victory.
"I thought we competed today. We got a bit "loose" defensively especially in the second half and lost a few of their shooters. We did a great job if taking care of the ball in both games this weekend. Especially today. If you have high expectations for your team then you want to give them a chance to play against top teams. We have done that so far this year," said head coach
Dennis Hutter.
Neither team mustered much offense in the first quarter. Both teams shot 31% for the quarter and combined only converted 1 of 14 three point shots. The Trojans scored first and maintained a small lead throughout the quarter.
Both teams locked down on defense as no points were scored in the last three minutes of the first. Through 10 minutes, Dakota State led 9-8.
The Comets offense started to heat up in the second quarter.
Jordan Zrust hit four points in the first 90 seconds to tie the game at 12.
Later in the second,
Erin Walcker and
Greta Hillukka nailed three consecutive triples to give Mayville State a 21-17 advantage.
The defenses tightened up for the last five minutes, and now the Comets clung to a 25-24 halftime lead.
Zrust continued to showcase her offensive talents with six points early in the third quarter. Two free throws by Zrust gave the Comets a 37-29 lead with six minutes left in the third. This turned out to be the largest lead either team would claim in the game, which highlighted how evenly skilled these two teams are.
The Trojans rattled off an 11-2 run to briefly reclaim the lead at 40-39, but the Comets responded with four straight points to lead 43-40 going into the fourth.
The Comets kept giving the ball to their All-American Zrust in the fourth quarter, and she carried the Comets offense by scoring 10 straight points to open the quarter.
However, the Trojans were able to pull out a late 9-3 run to take a slim 59-56, then hit some clutch free throws to hold off the Comets by a score of 63-59.
Zrust poured in 28 points to lead all scorers and hauled down 14 rebounds for a double-double. Walcker added 15 points and seven boards, and
Mackenzie Hughes finished in double figures with 11.
Hutter added, "We just finished the toughest part of our schedule. The last six games we have played four NAIA national tournament teams and a division II team, all on the road. And we came out of that stretch 4-2. We got better today."
The Comets record now stands at 5-2, with their only losses to top 25 opponents. Mayville State returns to the Lewy Lee to host the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars on Tuesday, tip is at 5:30.
