Home > Sports > Women’s hoops lose in first round of playoffs
Women’s hoops lose in first round of playoffs
BY ARIK FORSMAN
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
iISSUE: 78/24
The No. 7-seed Bulldogs pulled within one point of the No.2-seed University of North Dakota Sioux late in the second half, but could not overcome UND as the Bulldog women’s basketball team lost 69-61 in the opening
round of the North Central Conference (NCC) playoffs in Grand Forks, N.D. last Wednesday. The Bulldogs, after losing by 59 points to the same UND team just weeks earlier, nearly upset the nationally-ranked Sioux. It was UMD’s final NCC game, as both the men’s and women’s teams will be moving back to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference next year.
Coach Tanya Bauer talked about the playoff game afterwards. “It’s heartbreaking to have to lose on such a good performance,” Bauer said. “I’m not a person much into moral victories, but my team played like winners, and they deserved to win with the effort that was put in.” Sophomore Jordanne Even led UMD with 13 points, according to the UMD Web site.
Seniors Katy Freeman, Alissa Pauly and Kim Wagers all scored eight points in their final game. Bauer praised their leadership, and acknowledged losing three seniors means UMD will look very different on the court next year. “We lose three seniors that were huge contributors this year,” Bauer said. “We have some of the pieces of the puzzle in place, and there are some others that are question marks.”
Bauer said she felt her team turned a corner in the last few games of the season and talked about her program’s potential for next year and into the future. “I feel like we have now laid the foundation for a much brighter future,” Bauer said. “If it took the losses along the way to do it, that’s just fine,” she said. “I expect us to be winning ball games; there’s just no reason not to.”
