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Guard helps lift lady Jackrabbits
By Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
published: 11/16/2004
BROOKINGS - For two years, Heather Sieler's shot has been option No. 2.
Monday night in the South Dakota State women's opener against Concordia-St. Paul, the junior point guard played offense-first basketball.
Sieler scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first half as the Jackrabbits opened their first season in Division I with a 79-62 victory over the Bears before 1,129 fans at Frost Arena.
"We've definitely talked about me trying to be more aggressive at the offensive end of things," said Sieler, a Huron native. "I guess it kind of worked out for me tonight."
One thing that hasn't changed is SDSU's dominance on the boards. Christina Gilbert and Megan Vogel each had 10 rebounds and Sarita DeBoer nine as the Jacks outmuscled Concordia 53-32, including a 22-8 edge on the offensive glass.
"This is much more typical of how we want to play," said SDSU coach Aaron Johnston, whose team won two exhibition games last week in less-than-pleasing fashion.
The last time these two teams met, in March at the Division II North Central Regional in St. Paul, SDSU pounded Concordia 74-39. That game was retribution for the Jackrabbits, who lost a 75-67 regular-season road contest to the Bears last December.
While Monday's game didn't quite resemble the playoff blowout on the Bears' home court, SDSU's play in the paint resembled the effort that stymied Concordia in March.
"I think (the Jackrabbits) are going to get as good as they were last year, if not better," Bears coach Paul Fessler said. "Their post play is outstanding, regardless of who they play at Division I. Those are some pretty good kids who can run up and down the floor."
SDSU broke things open with a 10-0 run early in the first half. Sieler drained a pull-up jumper on a 3-on-2 break that prompted Fessler to call a timeout less than five minutes into the game.
"She was really aggressive at trying to create shots for herself," Johnston said. "One of the things Heather's always done in the past has been extremely unselfish, to the point that we couldn't get her to be as aggressive as we'd like that position to be. Tonight, she was really good at attacking the basket and looking to score."
Heidi Gill and Jennifer Pozzani kept the Bears close, and back-to-back baskets by Kayla Christensen forced Johnston to burn a timeout of his own with SDSU's lead trimmed to eight in the opening period.
That straightened out the Jacks. Sieler hit a 3-pointer immediately after the stoppage to ignite a 12-5 run over the final 3:12 of the half that made it 46-31.
"That's what you want from a junior point guard who's been in a lot of big games," Johnston said.
Vogel scored seven of SDSU's first nine points after intermission as the Jackrabbits expanded their lead to 25 in just over seven minutes. The sophomore contributed 15 points to go with five offensive boards and four assists.
Pozzani led the Bears with 12 points, while three other starters chipped in 10 apiece.
The Jacks get a few days off before heading to the Cal State-Stanislaus Tournament this weekend. SDSU plays Cal State-Bakersfield on Friday, and then finishes up with the host team on Saturday.
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
Guard helps lift lady Jackrabbits
By Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
published: 11/16/2004
BROOKINGS - For two years, Heather Sieler's shot has been option No. 2.
Monday night in the South Dakota State women's opener against Concordia-St. Paul, the junior point guard played offense-first basketball.
Sieler scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first half as the Jackrabbits opened their first season in Division I with a 79-62 victory over the Bears before 1,129 fans at Frost Arena.
"We've definitely talked about me trying to be more aggressive at the offensive end of things," said Sieler, a Huron native. "I guess it kind of worked out for me tonight."
One thing that hasn't changed is SDSU's dominance on the boards. Christina Gilbert and Megan Vogel each had 10 rebounds and Sarita DeBoer nine as the Jacks outmuscled Concordia 53-32, including a 22-8 edge on the offensive glass.
"This is much more typical of how we want to play," said SDSU coach Aaron Johnston, whose team won two exhibition games last week in less-than-pleasing fashion.
The last time these two teams met, in March at the Division II North Central Regional in St. Paul, SDSU pounded Concordia 74-39. That game was retribution for the Jackrabbits, who lost a 75-67 regular-season road contest to the Bears last December.
While Monday's game didn't quite resemble the playoff blowout on the Bears' home court, SDSU's play in the paint resembled the effort that stymied Concordia in March.
"I think (the Jackrabbits) are going to get as good as they were last year, if not better," Bears coach Paul Fessler said. "Their post play is outstanding, regardless of who they play at Division I. Those are some pretty good kids who can run up and down the floor."
SDSU broke things open with a 10-0 run early in the first half. Sieler drained a pull-up jumper on a 3-on-2 break that prompted Fessler to call a timeout less than five minutes into the game.
"She was really aggressive at trying to create shots for herself," Johnston said. "One of the things Heather's always done in the past has been extremely unselfish, to the point that we couldn't get her to be as aggressive as we'd like that position to be. Tonight, she was really good at attacking the basket and looking to score."
Heidi Gill and Jennifer Pozzani kept the Bears close, and back-to-back baskets by Kayla Christensen forced Johnston to burn a timeout of his own with SDSU's lead trimmed to eight in the opening period.
That straightened out the Jacks. Sieler hit a 3-pointer immediately after the stoppage to ignite a 12-5 run over the final 3:12 of the half that made it 46-31.
"That's what you want from a junior point guard who's been in a lot of big games," Johnston said.
Vogel scored seven of SDSU's first nine points after intermission as the Jackrabbits expanded their lead to 25 in just over seven minutes. The sophomore contributed 15 points to go with five offensive boards and four assists.
Pozzani led the Bears with 12 points, while three other starters chipped in 10 apiece.
The Jacks get a few days off before heading to the Cal State-Stanislaus Tournament this weekend. SDSU plays Cal State-Bakersfield on Friday, and then finishes up with the host team on Saturday.
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
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