(DCC Athletics release)
GLENDIVE – Advancing to the semifinal round of the Region XIII Tournament, Dawson Community College women’s basketball had to defeat #1 seed North Dakota State College of Science if they were to move on to the championship. NDSCS did not allow Dawson to move on as they defeated the Lady Bucs 76-55.
The Lady Bucs were able to hang with the Lady Wildcats for 3 quarters, but it was early in the 4th quarter when NDSCS took a commanding lead and never looked back. Dawson played solid defense for most of the game causing 17 turnovers for the Lady Wildcats and converting 16 points from it. However, Dawson was unable to provide any offensive threat down the stretch. NDSCS was on fire in the 4th quarter and five players finished in double figures. They shot a very good 47% from the field, 44% from 3-point range and 75% from the foul line. The Lady Bucs shot poorly all night, finishing 35% from the field, 14% from 3-point (3-22) and 57% from the free throw line. There were only two Lady Bucs in double figures: Lexia Bell-White with 11 points and Ejanae Coopwood with a game high 19 points. Bell-White also had 5 rebounds, while Coopwood had 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Dawson was hampered by Conference Player of the Year Alexius Foster only scoring 8 points, which was way below her scoring average of 18 points per game. Foster did contribute 6 rebounds. Dawson got outrebounded by NDSCS 48-32. NDSCS also got 21 points off the bench, while DCC had only 9.
Head Coach Romeo Lagmay, Jr. on the game, “I really wish we could have competed all 40 minutes. If we have our players firing on all pistons, the outcome of that game would have been totally different. There were a few starters who really should have been prepared to step up offensively, especially knowing the magnitude of this game. But those things didn’t happen, and I’m really proud of our Lady Bucs trying to be their best. For what we had to deal with this entire season without having some players with us till the end, I say we totally overachieved. We can live with 20 wins in a season. That’s actually a great accomplishment in college basketball.”
Dawson concludes the season with an overall record of 20-12 and a second place standing in conference, along with having the Region XIII Player of the Year. The Lady Bucs will continue to focus on still being nationally ranked on having the highest team gpa.
