OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Providence women's basketball team fell to Dakota State 77-66 in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.
The Trojans got off to a hot start, racing out to a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Trojans expanded on the lead in the second quarter, at one point leading by 22 points before entering the break 42-26. The Argos didn't back down, however, cutting the lead down to two points late in the fourth quarter before the Trojans pulled away to secure the win.
"I'm really proud of our kids," head coach
Bill Himmelberg said. "We dug ourselves a little bit too big of a hole. We cut it to two, but then they made big plays, you have to give them credit. I'm just super proud of our kids and how they responded to that situation. We've been in that situation before and were able to make some special moments happen. We thought we had a chance to do that tonight but it just didn't go our way."
With
Frontier Conference Player of the Year Emilee Maldonado hobbled by an ankle injury,
Parker Esary stepped up. With defenders all over her, Esary scored nearly half the team's points, recording a career-high 32 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
Kenedy Cartwright also reached double figures, scoring 10 points and three assists.
"It's great to see Parker step up when we needed her too with Emilee being hurt," Himmelberg said. "She was also a great leader out there which was great."
Jessi Giles led the way for the Trojans, scoring 38 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Morgan Koepsell added 12 points.
The loss means the end of a season that has dealt with a ton of adversity all season. The Argos began practicing in mid-December, nearly a full semester after other teams in their conference began. They also dealt with a host of cancellations due to Frontier Conference COVID-19 protocols. The team also had to deal with some unfortunate injuries to players during key moments.
"Our team loves each other," Himmelberg said. "We responded well to the whole situation. We overcame so many obstacles the whole year with every situation thrown our way. To give us a chance to even be here at the National Tournament, it's pretty neat to see how hard we responded and how we reacted to each other. They're a special group."
