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Women struggle early
 Media Credit: Michael Martin/Managing Editor SCSU’s Kristine DeGroot (left) and Nicole Persby fight to get the ball away from a South Dakota player Friday night. Persby scored the winning basket in overtime to beat the Coyotes. The Huskies went on to lose Saturday to Morningside.
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The SCSU women’s basketball team started their NCC season on Friday night by hosting the University of South Dakota Coyotes. The Huskies began their NCC season in the same manner that it ended last year, with enough intensity, stress and pressure to make Husky fans want to stop watching in fear of sudden heart failure.
As the game winded down, everyone in the packed Halenbeck Hall gymnasium began to remember last year’s NCC tournament when the Huskies lost in triple overtime to UND. Much to their relief there was a different ending to this nailbiter. This time the Huskies pulled off a controversial victory in overtime, 75-74 over the Coyotes.
The Huskies got off to a slow start and needed junior guard Jessica Abrahams, who returned to the starting lineup from an injury, to get the first bucket for the Huskies three minutes into the game.
It didn’t take long for USD’s sharpshooter Krista Orsack to take advantage of the Huskies’ slow start by nailing three three-pointers to give the Coyotes a 15-5 lead with 14:31 remaining in the first half.
The Coyotes dominated the first half, but thanks to Abraham’s nine points and sophomore Tracy Melham’s hot three-point shooting (2-4 with six points), the Huskies stayed close. USD was ahead 37-31 going into the half.
The second half was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Senior Tina Schreiner got the Huskies back in the game with three consecutive buckets that included a steal in the back court and an easy lay up, that made the score 37-41 two minutes into the second half.
Schreiner then used two more transition baskets to give the Huskies their first lead 44-43 at the 14-minute mark. The Huskies used tight defense to stay ahead for most of the second half until Orsack caught fire once again for the Coyotes. She hit three three-pointers in a span of about three minutes to tie the game at 64-64 with 1:04 left in the game.
Molly Jensen was then called for a foul in the backcourt, which put USD in the bonus. USD’s Stacey Schooley missed a free throw and the game went into overtime.
Twenty seconds into overtime Orsack hit her seventh three-pointer of the game to give USD the lead 67-64. Schreiner made two free throws to give the Huskies a 72-71 lead with 1:20 left in overtime Abrahams was then called for a foul which put Orsack in the double bonus with 1:05 left. She made both of the free throws, giving the Coyotes a 73-72 lead. Abrahams then got a big offensive rebound and was fouled with 50 seconds remaining. She made one of them, which tied the game 73-73.
The Coyotes then had the ball and SCSU’s Nicole Persby was called for a questionable foul, which sent USD’s Mandy Koupal to the line to shoot two. Koupal made one of them to give USD a 74-73 lead with 19 seconds left.
SCSU then designed a play to isolate Persby which USD defended well, causing the Huskies to call a time out with five seconds remaining. The Huskies put the ball in Persby’s hands again and she took the ball strong to the hoop and scored.
The controversy came because the clock did not start right away so the referees and both coaches met at the press box as everyone in Halenbeck Hall was on their feet and in confusion. The decision was that Persby would have got the ball off in time so the Huskies won 75-74.
Schreiner led the Huskies with 20 points and nine rebounds while Persby had 15 points and a game high eight assists. Abrahams also had a great game in her return from injury with 15 points. Krista Orsack lead the Coyotes with 27 points and shot 7-14 from the three-point arch.
The Huskies showed the composure it takes to win big games. Thanks to the leadership of the seniors, the Huskies won a game that they might not have been able to pull off last year.
“I think they did really well, especially down the stretch,” said head coach Dr. Lori Ulferts. “Nicole (Persby) and Tina (Schreiner) as seniors didn’t rush things. They were very composed and executed very well. We hit a very hot team defensively and offensively and they played really well, but I thought we handled the pressure very well. I don’t think they doubted for a minute that they could win the game and they went after everything.”
The Huskies once again played a high intensity game that fans are beginning to expect when they step inside Halenbeck Hall.
“It had to be exciting for the fans,” Ulferts said.
Saturday was a different story for the Huskies as they were upset by Morningside 96-75 in their second home game of the weekend. The Mustangs took the Huskies by surprise and came out gunning 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arch. Morningside went on a 7-0 run to end the first half leading 41-34.
Abrahams opened the second half with a three-pointer to cut the lead to five points, but that was the closest the Huskies would get for the rest of the game.
Seven Mustangs scored in double figures. Erica Thein led the Mustangs with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds. Nickie Rotert had 18 points while shooting 4-9 from three-point territory, and teammate Megan Cloud chipped in 14 points.
The Huskies turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 25 times and seniors Schreiner and Persby combined for 11 of those turnovers.
“We didn’t pass the ball well and in order to be successful and get into our offense we’re going to need to pass the ball better,” Abrahams said. “When we didn’t that’s what caused the turnovers and we couldn’t get into the flow of the game. They shot really well and we didn’t answer on the other end.”
Schreiner lead the Huskies with 26 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Persby and freshman Molly Jensen each chipped in 11 points. The Huskies dropped to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the NCC.
The Huskies will play a makeup game at Southwest State on Tuesday and will host Bemidji State University Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Bobby Hart can be reached at: [email protected]
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