Game Notes: (WBK) University of Dubuque @ North Central College (11/16/19)

Final Score
Dubuque 80, NCC 75

Game Summary
Things got off to a good start on Megan Niklas Day as the Cardinals (1-2) opened the scoring and, other than a brief 2-2 tie, led for the entire opening quarter by as many as nine and finishing the opening stanza with a 19-13 advantage. Just a couple minutes into the second quarter, the advantage was double digits, with a high water mark of a 32-17 advantage with about six and a half minutes to go in the frame. But then the Spartans (2-0) slowly started to claw their way back, getting within seven late in the quarter before the Cardinals pushed the advantage back to double figures, going into the break up 45-34. But then the Cardinals came back out ice cold, seeing a 12 point lead evaporate in a 17-3 run. The Cardinals managed to grab the lead right back and took a 57-53 lead into the final frame, but the Spartans pushed again, opening the frame with an extended 15-2 run and eventually going up by as many as 13. The Cardinal offense came back to life too late; North Central would get back within three, but a pair of Dubuque free throws sealed the deal.

Key Players

• Tabria Thomas (DUB): 6-8 FG (0-1 3PT), 3-6 FT; 15 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl. Thomas had quiet first half; she played 10 minutes with limited effectiveness due to some foul trouble, but broke out in the second with a perfect 20 minutes inside the arc and 11 of her 15 points. Three of her four steals also came after the intermission.
• Kennedy Litvinoff (DUB): 3-4 FG (2-2 3PT), 4-4 FT; 12 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 3 stl. Litvinoff came off the bench and did most of her damage in the second half as well, scoring 10 of 12 points after the break. One of her threes came during that crucial 15-2 run that put the Spartans up seven.
• Alanna Newsome (NCC): 5-16 FG (3-6 3PT), 9-11 FT; 22 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl. Alanna continues to develop nicely in her sophomore year, and did well shooting from beyond the arc. Her inside game though needs a little work, as a 2-10 day from two point range is not good enough. She did well at the free throw line, which is good, and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

Key Stats

• NCC: 7-33 FG (21.2%), 3-11 3PT (27.3%), 13-22 FT (59.1%) in the 2nd half. This is... less than ideal. The third quarter was actually worse, as the Cardinals only hit two field goals all period, and it allowed the Spartans to come back. I think I counted between the late third and early fourth quarters four wide open layups the Cardinals missed. Those eight points, combined with nine missed free throws for the half... you do the math.
• DUB: 48 bench points. I normally won't go over bench points, but when your reserves log 60 percent of your scoring for a non-System team, it raises an eyebrow.. That of course includes Litvinoff mentioned above, but four other players scored between eight and 11 points for the game off the bench.

Final Thoughts

Friday night I saw the women's team in attendance for the men's game against Greenville, and I was a little alarmed to see players in walking boots. One of them, Natali Dimitrova, did not dress on Saturday. Had she been present, I'd like to think that her good post game on both ends of the floor would have made enough of a difference. But even so, this is a game you have to win... and they couldn't do it. This team continues to struggle to put together a full 40 minutes. They continue to show though that they're never really out of a game, given the late rally, but some better play earlier in the game probably would have turned the tide. The Cardinals are back at it tomorrow as they welcome Concordia-Wisconsin to Gregory Arena.