Something about those Dawson Buccaneers.
The Lake Region State College women’s basketball team, which has enjoyed a strong season fueled by a dominant midseason run, hasn’t been able to crack the code of Dawson Community College. The Royals entered Wednesday one spot ahead of the Buccaneers in the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference standings. And despite running out to a 13-point lead in the first half, LRSC (18-11, 11-9) lost its third game to Dawson (11-18, 11-9) this season, falling 71-70 at Devils Lake Sports Center.
“It was just a bad five-minute patch we played during the second quarter. We let our emotions get the better of us, and we stopped playing and doing things the right way,” head coach Ryan Clark said. “But outside of that, there was obviously a lot of good basketball played, which I’m proud about.”
Often, this team will struggle with shooting in the early going. But Tiyahna Trottier got things started right away with a three-pointer. The Royals, after honoring their six sophomores for Sophomore Night, came out with a high sense of energy. They forced a shot clock violation on the Buccaneers’ first possession.
“It was fun and exciting how we played,” Clark said. “That can be our best brand of basketball. We showed some of our best basketball tonight, and probably showed some of our worst basketball tonight.”
After the Royals went up 5-0, Dawson came back with five quick points of its own. But LRSC kept its attack going. Kelsey Crossan scored 10 of the Royals’ 12 points in a stretch, repeatedly getting to the basket and poking in the simple layups. LRSC led 15-8. Crossan finished with 19 points in the game, to go along with 12 rebounds for the double-double.
“She was getting a lot of success because we were able to handle the pressure break,” Clark said. “Great game for her. Always plays hard, and it’s nice to see some things go her way today.”
The Buccaneers had some sloppy passing on their end, and the Royals were persistent on offensive rebounds. It was a 25-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Brooke Kleinig and Crossan began the second quarter with a pair of baskets, but Dawson started to find its footing as the quarter wore on. After Crossan’s seventh basket of the game put LRSC up 33-20, Dawson went on a 12-0 run to trim the gap. The Royals’ shooting got sloppier, and the Buccaneers found ways to get to the rim.
“We didn’t stay composed,” Clark said. “We lost our cool. We just got really flustered, and it just led to mistake after mistake.”
Anisah Wolf hit a three that got LRSC back in the points column. But Morgan Leas had a shot blocked, and Breanna Old Elk put Dawson ahead with a layup. The Royals were outscored 23-11 in the second quarter, and a whopping 19-3 ever since holding that 13-point lead. Despite such a strong start, they trailed 39-36 at the half.
And it was more of the same in the early minutes of the second half. The Buccaneers were finding ways to cut through pressure and make layups with guards on them, while the Royals were attempting long three-point attempts and missing them. LRSC didn’t score until a Kleinig layup three minutes into the quarter.
A Kyla Fitzgerald layup on the run seemed to spark something in the Royals. Nicole Lillard and Trottier each landed a three, suddenly cutting the deficit back to one at 47-46.
But Dawson remained the team with more consistent attacks. Crossan, who was making layups at will in the first quarter, missed a pair of them. She still landed two free throws, keeping the game close. The Buccaneers led 53-51 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fitzgerald made her second three to get LRSC within one again, 55-54. Crossan and Fitzgerald each missed a subsequent go-ahead three. Evelyn Old Coyote scored three straight points for Dawson to keep the Royals in a marginal deficit.
“I’d love for some more shots to go in, but I’m not going to stress,” Clark said. “It’s basketball… We’re getting good shots, we just need to trust that it’s gonna fall for us, and just continue to work hard and do things the right way.”
Fitzgerald made a layup that took multiple bounces off the rim, eliciting a roar from the Royals’ bench once it finally went through the hoop. The energy perked back up for LRSC. Wolf tied it, and Lillard regained the lead for LRSC. Clark had to remove a ball that got stuck between the rim and the backboard, providing a briefly humorous moment for the bench and the crowd.
But then it was back to business.
The Royals ultimately had an 8-0 run that gave them a 62-58 lead. The momentum swayed back to Dawson, though, with three-pointers by Eirini Chatzinikoli and Kylee Old Elk. It was back to a three-point Royals deficit.
Fitzgerald swished her third three of the game and second of the quarter to tie it up again. But back-to-back Dawson baskets made it a two-possession game with a minute to play.
Trottier was fouled and made both free throws, getting the Royals within 69-67 with 50.9 seconds left. McKenzi Petersen missed a layup for Dawson, then was fouled to keep the Buccaneers in possession, but the Royals managed to get a stop.
So they took another timeout.
With the clock now at 13.5 seconds, Fitzgerald committed a foul while trying to get up to the basket. The Buccaneers, who now had possession of the ball, used another timeout with five seconds remaining. The Royals fouled, and K. Old Elk made both free throws to make it a two-possession game.
Crossan made a three at the buzzer, but it was just short of enough. LRSC lost by one point to Dawson for the second time this season. Less than a month ago, the Buccaneers beat the Royals 60-59 on the road.
LRSC only has one game left in the regular season, and it’s in danger of finishing in fourth place in the conference. Dawson owns the tiebreaker because of the advantage in head-to-head matchups, so the Royals will need to beat Bismarck State College (4-25, 3-17) while Dawson will need to lose to Miles Community College (7-22, 4-16) on Sunday for LRSC to snag the No. 3 seed.
“The way they play is just a lot of pressure, a lot of chaos,” Clark said of the Buccaneers. “So when you don’t control yourself and you don’t control your emotions and you don’t stay level-headed, you can let it get on top of you.”
