JAMESTOWN – There is good to take into the postseason for both Jamestown Jimmies basketball teams.
Jamestown swept Dakota Wesleyan Saturday at Harold Newman Arena in UJ’s final regular season games after six seasons in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Jimmie women stopped DWU 73-67, with the Jamestown men stretching their winning streak to five games with a 94-73 win over the Tigers.
Women: Jamestown 73, Dakota Wesleyan 67
Fifth-year senior Kia Tower starred in her final regular season home game, scoring a career-high 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting and four three-pointers. Kate Cordes added 16 points with three threes. Audrey Rodakowski, also in her final regular season home contest, scored eight for Jamestown (17-11, 13-9 GPAC). Kate Busek pulled down 10 rebounds and scored five points.
Emma Yost scored 13 for Dakota Wesleyan (19-9, 14-8). Taliyah Hayes and Rylee Rosenquist each scored 12.
Tower hit two three-pointers and a buzzer-beating banker in the lane in the first quarter, scoring 10 and helping Jamestown to a 15-14 lead after 10 minutes.
DWU led by five early in the second quarter, but the Jimmies took a 33-32 lead for halftime on a shot by Tower with just under three seconds left.
That started a 10-0 run that extended into the third quarter. Cordes and Tower hit three-pointers, followed by a Jailyn Martinson basket. Later in the period, Jamestown led by 10 and took a 55-47 lead into the final quarter.
DWU was within two points twice, but a Cordes three and baskets by Martinson, Cordes, Hannah Hagel and Tower made the Jamestown lead 68-60 with 3:35 left. The Tigers rallied again to cut the Jimmie lead to four, but Tower hit three free throws in the last 24 seconds to secure the win.
Jamestown is the sixth seed in the women’s GPAC postseason tournament and will play third seed Briar Cliff in Sioux City, Iowa on Wednesday. The Jimmies won at Briar Cliff 73-68 on January 17, but lost to the Chargers last Wednesday at Harold Newman Arena 78-66.
Men: Jamestown 94, Dakota Wesleyan 73
Jamestown’s offense was again efficient, with 54 percent shooting from the floor and six players scoring in double figures.
Will Cordes, one of five seniors playing in their last regular season home game, led the Jimmies (17-11, 12-8) with 19 points. Senior Cole Woodford hit four three-pointers and scored 16. Senior Colby Vazquez popped in 15. Another senior, Christian Lietz, scored 11 with eight rebounds and three assists. Silas Bennion and Antonio Chandler scored 10 each.
Jakob Dobney led Dakota Wesleyan (14-14, 9-11) with 16 points. Randy Rosenquist Jr. scored 13 with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Two threes by Woodford and one by Lietz were instrumental in a 13-2 Jamestown run over the first 2:46. After DWU came within four, Jamestown had an 11-2 run. Eventually, the Jimmies led by 18 just before halftime and 50-34 at the break.
The Tigers cut the lead to nine with just over 15 and a half minutes to go, but a 12-3 Jamestown spurt left the game’s outcome no longer in question. In fact, the Jimmies’ largest lead was 29 late in the game.
In the men’s GPAC postseason tournament, UJ is the number five seed and will play fourth seed Morningside on Wednesday in Sioux City. The Jimmies defeated the Mustangs in both of their regular season meetings, 91-81 on December 6 at Harold Newman Arena and 88-83 on January 24 on the road.
Coverage plans for Jamestown 107.1 and possibly another i3G Media station for UJ’s GPAC tournament games on Wednesday will be announced soon.