Jimmies unable to hold off Dragons in 59-57 loss

Paul Garcia II / The Jamestown Sun By Paul Garcia II Today at 9:23 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown women's basketball team had one last chance to tie or take the lead in its season opener against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Harold Newman Arena. Trailing 59-56 with 10 seconds remaining, the Jimmies turned to fifth-year senior Kate Cordes, who had carried the offense throughout the night. ADVERTISEMENT Cordes drove to the basket but missed the layup. Jessika Lofstrom grabbed the offensive rebound and drew a foul as time expired, giving UJ a chance to extend the game from the free-throw line. Lofstrom made the first but missed the second, allowing the Dragons to escape with a 59-57 victory. "I think when that look to Kate was taken away, she was just trying to draw some contact and get strong at the rim," UJ head coach Thad Sankey said. "Shwe wanted to give us a chance at getting an and-one there." The loss spoiled a strong return for Cordes, who finished with a game-high 24 points after missing all of last season as a redshirt. The Jimmies opened the night with Cordes scoring their first points of the season, draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 8:07 mark of the first quarter. Cordes didn't show any rust, scoring 14 of the Jimmies' 17 points in the first 10 minutes of play. With UJ trailing 13-11 in the closing minutes, Cordes went on a personal 6-0 run to put the Jimmies ahead 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. ADVERTISEMENT "She was aggressive early. She was confident early. She worked herself into a rhythm," Sankey said. "I thought she had good defensive focus. That's what you want from every scorer to kind of reciprocate on the defensive end." The Jimmies took only six shots in the second quarter but made them count, going 4-for-6 from the field with all four makes coming from beyond the arc. Paul Garcia II / The Jamestown Sun In comparison, the Dragons shot 17.6% in the second quarter, going 3-for-17 from the field. The highlight of the first half came on the final shot of the second quarter, when UND transfer Mataeya Mathern dribbled up the court, took an open 3-point attempt and drained the buzzer-beater. UJ went into the locker room with a 33-23 lead. Cordes led all scorers at halftime with 17 points. "I thought Jamestown played really hard in the first half, hit shots and rebounded, and did all the things that they needed to build that 10-point lead," MSUM head coach Karla Nelson said. The Dragons started ice cold from behind the arc, going 0-for-14 until junior guard Ashton Safranski drained a contested 3-pointer with 3:42 left in the third quarter. The shot cut the Jimmies' lead to 41-34. ADVERTISEMENT Safranski made another 3-pointer as the Dragons closed the third quarter on a 14-6 run to tie the game at 43. MSUM's defense also began creating problems for the Jimmies, who finished with 20 turnovers compared to the Dragons' seven. "Defensively, we really got after it in the second half," Nelson said. "I feel like at the end of the second quarter, we got a feel for that. Because offensively, there was just such a struggle." With an Ayelishka Teko-Folly free throw with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter, the Dragons took their first lead since the 3:45 mark of the first quarter. MSUM extended its advantage to five points before Cordes answered with a 3-pointer and a layup to tie the game at 50 with 6:17 remaining. The fourth quarter continued back and forth, with the Jimmies holding a 53-51 lead before Caylin Kelly made two free throws to tie the game with 3:02 left. A layup by Grace Massaquoi gave the Dragons a 55-53 advantage with 2:31 remaining. ADVERTISEMENT Kelly then drained a 3-pointer with 1:28 left to put MSUM up by five, forcing Sankey to call a timeout. UJ came out of the timeout with Cordes making a jumper to cut the deficit to 58-55 with 1:08 left. The Jimmies applied an aggressive full-court press and forced a turnover but couldn't capitalize on the possession. Freshman guard Addison Sage drew a foul with 11 seconds remaining and went 1-for-2 from the line before Kelly split a pair of free throws to set up the final possession. UJ finished 8-for-24 from beyond the arc, making seven of its first 11 attempts before going 1-for-13 in the second half. "We didn't get as good looks in the second half," Sankey said. "In the first half, we got some kickouts, right? We got some drives of the ball into the lane, and we got kickouts, and we were facing the basket and shooting it." UJ (0-1) returns to Harold Newman Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14, to face Dickinson State University at 6 p.m. ADVERTISEMENT MSU Moorhead 59, University of Jamestown 57 MSUM: 13 10 20 16 — 59 UJ: 17 16 10 14 — 57 Highlights: UJ — Kate Cordes 24 points, 4 3-pointers, 3 assists; Mataeya Mathern 9 points, 8 rebounds; Jessika Lofstrom 7 points, 12 rebounds; Kelsey Willems 5 points; Allie Berns 4 points; Addison Sage 3 points. MSUM — Caylin Kelly 16 points, 5 rebounds; Ashton Safranski 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals; Ayelishka Teko-Folly 10 points, 5 rebounds; Grace Massaquoi 9 points, 4 rebounds. Team stats: ADVERTISEMENT UJ — 18-46 FG (39.1%), 8-24 3PT (33.3%), 13-21 FT (61.9%), 39 rebounds, 20 turnovers, 17 fouls. MSUM — 22-66 FG (33.3%), 3-22 3PT (13.6%), 12-15 FT (80%), 37 rebounds, 7 turnovers, 20 fouls. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN JAMESTOWN JIMMIES JAMESTOWN STUTSMAN COUNTY By Paul Garcia II Paul Garcia II is a sports reporter for The Jamestown Sun. Paul is an Air Force veteran where he was stationed at Minot Air Force Base. After finishing his contract with the Air Force, Paul obtained a bachelor's degree in Communication and Media Studies at University California of San Diego, and a Master's in Sports Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. 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