SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Dixie State’s overtime win late Thursday night took a lot out of the Red Storm women, but they weren’t about to go down without a fight Friday night.
DSU’s overtime win over Dominican earned the Lady Storm a semifinal game tonight against the season conference champions Academy of Art University. After two season blowouts at the hands of AAU, the Lady Storm played a much more competitive match in the conference tournament, ultimately losing 82-72.
Dixie had the Lady Urban Knights on the ropes at the 15-minute mark of the second half, leading 50-42. The Red Storm’s leading scorer, Haley Holmstead, picked up her fourth foul and had to head to the bench. Over the next nine minutes, the Lady Knights put together a 21-3 run to take a 10-point lead, 63-53. Dixie State was able to claw back to within four points, 66-62, with 4:25 left.
But the Knights’ full-court pressure forced Dixie turnovers, resulting in five unanswered points. Dixie State was forced to foul to lengthen the game. The Lady Knights hit their free throws late to extend their lead to double-digits at the end.
Both teams shot woefully at 37 percent from the floor. The difference came at the line where AAU hit 20 of 31, while the Lady Storm only shot 15 free throws, hitting six.
In the first half, the Lady Knights jumped on Dixie State early, leading 30-18 after 11 minutes. DSU closed the half with a 20-7 run behind a balanced attack with Halleigh Emerine and Taylor Mann doing most of the damage.
PacWest Conference Player of the Year Krystal Forthan led all scorers with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Joining her in double-figures were Regina Camera, Molly O’Brien and Sha’nice Story with 15, 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Dixie was led by Kaylah Miller’s 18 points. Mann and Emerine recorded double-doubles for the second night in a row. Both scored 17 points. Emerine pulled down 24 rebounds while Mann snagged 14.
AAU moved to 22-7 and will battle Cal Baptist Saturday night for the conference championship. Dixie State’s season is complete at 14-14.
Stats: AAUW 82, DSUW 72
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