DEVILS LAKE — The Royals led by 15 in the fourth quarter. They didn’t win.
In a seesaw game of swings and comebacks, Lake Region State College women’s basketball fell just short on Sunday. The Royals went nearly the first five minutes of the game without scoring, yet they battled back to take the lead, fueled by three-pointers from Arden Faulkner and Sydney Schwabe.
But despite riding high in the third quarter, they faltered in the fourth. The Royals (11-10, 4-1) were outscored 22-6 in the final frame to lose 59-56 to North Dakota State College of Science (16-4, 5-0). They had a one-point lead at halftime and a 13-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
“I thought we had probably our best quarter all year in the third quarter,” Royals head coach Colden Hutton said. “The ball was moving. We were playing really well defensively. We were getting a ton of stops. But the fourth quarter, I think the first three minutes, we relaxed a little bit. They went on a little bit of a run, and then just kept the momentum throughout the quarter. And that’s what ended up losing the game, unfortunately.”
Faulkner, Schwabe and Kiara Holweger each reached double figures for LRSC. The Royals shot 28.4% overall and went 10-of-38 from three-point range.
The Royals didn’t score on their first seven possessions of the game. Neither team scored on its first three possessions, with Science finally breaking the scoreless tie at 7:27.
Pretty much everything that could go wrong for LRSC offensively did in the first few minutes. The Royals missed open three-ball looks and routine layups. Yet the Wildcats were only marginally better, building a 6-0 lead.
“We have ups and downs with our offense right now,” Hutton said. “We’ve gotta figure it out, of course. It’s on me. I’ve gotta do a better job of figuring out what we’ve gotta do.”
Holweger got the Royals on the board at 5:03, nearly five minutes of clock time into the game. It was a three-pointer, slicing the deficit in half.
LRSC still struggled to finish drives for most of the first quarter. With less than two minutes left, it trailed 8-3.
Holweger made a put-back at 1:25 after Lara Graham missed a three. It was 8-5, with all five LRSC points belonging to Holweger.
Down 10-5, Faulkner made a buzzer-beating three to cap the first quarter. Despite the deep offensive drought LRSC started in, it only trailed by two points going into the second quarter.
The next period started off similarly sluggishly. NDSCS went on a 7-0 run to build its lead to 19-7. Brinly Gregory scored the Royals’ first points of the quarter with a three at about 6:30, three and a half minutes in.
Faulkner’s second three made it 19-15, and Nicole Lillard made a put-back to get the Royals within two again.
Down 21-17, Faulkner made 1-of-2 free throws, then swished a game-tying three. Finally, the threes that were missing for most of the first half were landing. Faulkner promptly dialed in and landed another triple to put the Royals up 24-21. She scored 11 of her 18 points in the second quarter.
NDSCS, with the margin back to 24-23, had a chance to take the lead, but it missed a pair of free throws with 14.4 seconds left in the half. By some miracle, LRSC led by a point at halftime. That was despite shooting just 20.5% and getting outrebounded 29-20. The Royals were 6-of-25 from three, while the Wildcats were 1-of-10.
“In all honesty, we’re an elite defensive team,” Hutton said. “And it has nothing to do with our principles or anything; it has everything to do with our girls’ energy and effort. They compete at a high level defensively, and that’s what keeps us in the game.”
NDSCS got off to an exponentially quicker start in the second half, going up 28-24 on a deuce and a triple. But just as swiftly, Schwabe made back-to-back threes to swing LRSC ahead 30-28. Schwabe unusually had been held to zero points in the first half, but her six gave the Royals another lead. She had 11 points in the game, all in the second half.
“Two of our best shooters,” Hutton said of Faulkner and Schwabe, who combined for seven of LRSC’s 10 threes. “We needed them today, and they hit a couple for us, so that was big.”
NDSCS responded with its own three to go up 33-32. But the Royals kicked it into full gear and ignited a 12-0 run. Holweger, with her first points since the opening five, put LRSC ahead after Schwabe found her open by the rim. Holweger also hit a three-pointer, and Lillard, Graham and Gregory all contributed to the run.
The Royals were jumping. The energy was high and the passion was flowing.
It was, again, what Hutton described as the best he’s seen his team play this year. The Royals led 50-37 at the end of the third quarter and 52-37 at one point in the fourth. They were a few minutes from victory.
But offense, which came in waves for LRSC all afternoon, took another downturn in the fourth quarter. The Royals scored just six points on two field goals and two free throws. Faulkner had four of those points, while Schwabe had the other two.
Runs of 7-0 and 5-0 for NDSCS got it back to 54-49. The Wildcats got within two points after a turnover. They missed a potential go-ahead three, but took the lead anyway on a bucket with 2:22 left in the game.
Holweger missed a running layup, and Jenna Tierney missed a three attempt short. Holweger had no choice but to foul with 14.9 seconds left, and NDSCS converted on both of its free throws. The Wildcats finished the game on a 10-0 run to take the contest by three points.
With the Royals’ loss to Williston State College being changed to a win by forfeit, it was technically their first conference loss of the season. They’ll return to action this Sunday at home against United Tribes Technical College, before going on the road to play Bismarck State College on Monday.
“We’ve gotta get ready to go for next week,” Hutton said. “Two big ones next week.”