Hannah DeMars said Jimmie women's basketball plans to try and find a way to bottle up its final two minutes played Monday night in Hastings, Nebraska.
The University of Jamestown overcame a nine-point, 68-59, deficit with 2 minutes, 29 seconds to play before falling 70-68 to the Hastings College Broncos. The Jimmies forced five turnovers during their closing 9-2 run, and possessed the basketball with a shot to either tie or win the game as the clock expired.
DeMars said UJ's effort for four quarters needs to reflect similar tenacity.
"It just came down to what team wanted it more," said DeMars, who missed UJ's 70-65 win over Northwestern College on Nov. 18 with strep throat. "The last couple minutes, how hard we played ... that's how we should've played the whole second half."
DeMars showed strong in her return, posting a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds, helping to bridge the gap left in the absence of junior starter Noelle Josephson. DeMars scored four points during a 6-0 UJ run to start the game and a Correy Hickman 3-pointer had UJ leading 29-22 with 5:21 to play in the half.
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Hastings, however, scored 17 of the next 23 points to lead 39-55 at the break. Taylor Beacom finished with 15 points for the Broncos, while Kaitlyn Schmit hit a trio of 3-pointers and tossed in 15.
Hastings led by as many as 10 points in the third and 53-50 to start the fourth, before ballooning the lead back out to nine points as the final quarter ticked away. Jamestown at one point turned the ball over on four straight possessions in the fourth before charging back over the final 2:30.
Trailing 70-66 with 27 seconds remaining, DeMars rebounded an Emma Stoehr missed 3-pointer and scored on the putback, and the Jimmies would immediately turn over the Broncos on the inbounds to set up the final 10 seconds controlling their own destiny with the basketball.
Sophomore guard Kia Tower was able to draw a shooting foul by driving into the lane, but after missing the first free throw with 7 seconds remaining, the second freebie was intentionally missed, rebounded by DeMars, and an off-the-mark 3-pointer by Tower was the final play as the buzzer sounded.
"It was all things that we could've controlled," DeMars said. "It was really nothing X's and O's-wise ... we just needed to play harder."
Tower finished with 16 points, while freshman forward Audrey Rodakowski was back in the starting lineup after breaking her nose in last week's win over the Red Raiders at Newman Arena. Rodakowski finished with 11 points.
"She's totally fine," DeMars said of the 6-foot freshman from Dickinson. "She bounced back really quickly and practiced the next day with a broken nose."
Both the Jimmies and the Broncos committed 26 turnovers. UJ shot 42% from the field and missed 16 of 20 3-pointers attempted.
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Jamestown (3-2, 1-2 Great Plains Athletic Conference) has a day to rest before facing Doane University (3-2, 1-1) at 11 o'clock in the morning on Wednesday in Crete, Nebraska.
"Tomorrow (Tuesday) we have the whole day to rest and get our minds right," DeMars said. "We're all kinda frustrated with this game a little bit, so I think playing right away will be good to prove ourselves and bounce back."
Hastings College 70, University of Jamestown 68
UJ 21 14 15 18 -- 68
HC 18 19 14 17 -- 70
UJ -- Hannah DeMars 22, Kia Tower 16, Audrey Rodakowski 11, Emma Stoehr 9, Correy Hickman 7, Anni Stier 2, Gracie Bohl 1. Totals: 27-65 FG, 4-20 3-pointers (Tower 2, Stoehr, Hickman), 10-14 FT, 38 Rebounds (DeMars 12), 11 Assists (DeMars 4, Stoehr 4), 17 Fouls, 26 Turnovers, 8 Steals.
HC -- Taylor Beacom 15, Kaitlyn Schmit 13, Carley Leners 13, Dawson Knode 13, Natalia Dick 9, Ali Smith 6, Karli Hale 1. Totals: 25-54 FG, 6-15 3-pointers (Schmit 3, Smith, Beacom, Knode), 14-17 FT, 23 Rebounds (Beacom 5, Knode 5), 16 Assists (Smith 6), 13 Fouls, 26 Turnovers, 9 Steals.
Records: Hastings 1-2, 1-1 GPAC. Jamestown 3-2, 1-2.
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