Jay girls notch OT win

Until Friday night, the Mandan High School girls basketball team hadn’t had much of a problem in Jamestown during the four years Blue Jays coach Andy Skunberg has been at the helm.

Jamestown put the kibosh on that.

Junior post Paige Peterson dumped in 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, senior guard Kyra Dewald added 18, and the fifth-ranked Blue Jays scored seven of the final eight points in overtime in a 67-63 West Region win over the Braves at the JHS gym.

“This is very huge. In my four years, we’ve never beaten them here,” Skunberg said. “It’s a confidence win. That’s huge for us.”

Trailing 62-60 after an elbow jumper from Mandan’s Makenzie Schmidt, Jamestown used a short jumper from Peterson to tie it and a pair of free throws from Dewald put the Blue Jays on top for good.

“You can’t be nervous at that point,” Dewald said. “You’ve just got to shoot with confidence.”

Billie Buchanan had a bucket and McKayla Orr added a late free throw to finish out the period, but one of the biggest shots in overtime came from Erin Mullowney. The junior guard came off the bench and drilled her third 3-pointer of the game from the left wing to tie it early in overtime after Mandan had taken a 60-57 lead.

“That’s why we have her out there,” Skunberg said. “We know she can do that. We rely on her out there.”

Jamestown struggled with passing the entire game, even in overtime when it had four turnovers. The Jays had 31 in the game, most of which came on the perimeter as a result of Mandan’s ferocious 1-3-1 defense.

“Our passing was terrible,” Dewald said. “They played a 1-3-1, and it’s hard to practice that.”

Jamestown had 16 turnovers in the second half.

“They’re a very good defense; they play the passing lanes,” Skunberg said. “We were struggling with that. It’s tough to emulate that in practice.”

Down by two with 30 seconds to go in regulation, Dewald got the rebound off a missed Mullowney 3-pointer and put up a shot that sailed over the basket. Fortunately, she hustled after the ball, got her own rebound and sank the putback with 25 seconds remaining. Mandan turned it over on its final possession, and Dewald’s contested jumper was short to send it into overtime.

Jamestown dominated the boards, outrebounding Mandan 39-26. The Blue Jays (1-0 West Region, 2-0 overall) go to Minot on Thursday.

The Braves (0-1, 0-1) were led in scoring by Lexi Goldade, who had 16 points. JaeLyn Russell, a Jamestown College volleyball recruit, added 13, as did Makenzie Schmidt.

Jamestown 67, Mandan 63

Mandan 30 57 63

Jamestown 24 57 67

Mandan — Lexi Goldade 16, Makenzie Schmidt 13, JaeLyn Russell 13, Courtney Goetz 9, McKayla Howling Wolf 5, Mariah Fredericks 5, Chelsea Peterson 2. Totals 23-66 14-27 63.

Jamestown — Paige Peterson 20, Kyra Dewald 18, Billie Buchanan 12, Erin Mullowney 9, McKayla Orr 3, Siri Jystad 2, Addie Eamon 2, Miah Dabill 1. Totals 24-61 15-22 67

3-pointers: M 3 (Fredericks, Howling Wolf, Russell), J 4 (Mullowney 3, Dewald). Rebounds, M 26 (Russell 7), J 39 (Peterson 13); Assists, M 15 (Goetz 4), J 18 (Peterson 6); Blocks, M 2 (Howling Wolf, Goldade), J 2 (Jystad, Eamon); Steals: M 16 (Goetz 4), J 10 (Dabill 3); Fouls: M 20, J21; Turnovers: M 18, J 31.

Sun sportswriter Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jays, basketball