JAMESTOWN, N.D.-- In a game that will go down as an instant classic in the annals of North Star Athletic Association history, it was only fitting that the NSAA Player of the Year would make the deciding shot.
Jessica Buck scored on an inbounds lob from Kyra Dewald as time expired to lift the ninth-ranked Jimmies to a 65-63 victory over #24 Dickinson State University in the NSAA championship game Sunday.
The Jimmies led 59-58 after Buck sank a pair of free throws with 3:26 left. Ashley Bentz scored DSU's next five points to put the Blue Hawks up 63-59 with 2:07 to go.
Bryn Woodside made a bucket with 1:41 left to pull Jamestown within two, then following a Bentz turnover, Buck scored with 26 seconds left to pull the Jimmies even.
Dickinson State called timeout with 25 seconds to play, setting up for a final shot. Janniqua Thomas missed a shot that was rebounded by Dewald with 1.4 seconds on the clock. After a full timeout and a 30 second timeout by the Jimmies, Dewald's inbounds lob to Buck was on the mark and Buck layed the ball off the glass to send the Jimmies onto Sioux City, Iowa, as North Star conference champions.
The first quarter saw the Jimmies lead by as many as eight points after Kaeli Kraska's three-pointer made it 20-12. Despite shooting only 30 percent, the Blue Hawks were down just five at 23-18 after one.
Both teams struggled in the second quarter, with the Blue Hawks making just 3 of 14 shot attempts and the Jimmies 3 of 12. UJ took a 33-27 lead at the break.
Another three from Kraska put Jamestown up by 13 with 3:09 in the third quarter, 51-38. However, Dickinson State ended the period on a 10-0 run and trailed by just three after three quarters.
For the game, the Jimmies finished 22 of 56 from the field (39.3%) and 10 of 27 (37%) from three-point range. They shot 11 of 14 from the foul line. Dickinson State was 22 of 63 (34.9%) and 8 of 15 (53.3%) beyond the arc.The Blue Hawks were a perfect 11 of 11 at the charity stripe. DSU won the rebounding battle 39-36, had 5 blocks to UJ's 1, led in steals 8-5, and won the turnover margin 13-9.
Dewald led all scorers with 21 points, and added five rebounds and five assists. Kraska added 15 points and Buck 13. Alexis Watts had six points and eight rebounds. Bryn Woodside chipped in with seven points and five assists.
Janniqua Thomas led the Blue Hawks with 19 points, and had seven rebounds and seven assists. MacKayla Feeney scored 14 and Taylor Henningsgard 11 to join Thomas in double figures. Megan Klein pulled down a game-high ten rebounds.
The Jimmies (29-4) earn a spot in the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Dickinson State, at 23-8, will see on Wednesday if they earn an at-large bid for the tournament.
