BUTTE, Mont. — Fresh off a first-team All-Frontier Conference selection, Kennedy Stormer turned in a brilliant final performance, scoring 33 points with 11 assists and five steals, but No. 7 Dakota State (S.D.) proved too deep, eliminating Bismarck State (N.D.) 113-83 Friday in the Frontier Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The Trojans (25-4) led from start to finish, never allowing the Mystics to draw even, as Dakota State's bench outscored BSC's reserves 51-39 and the Trojans converted 22 points off Bismarck State's 15 turnovers.
Stormer was magnificent in what was likely her final game as a Mystic, shooting 11-of-24 from the field and 6-of-12 from three to go along with her 11 assists, a remarkable all-around effort against the conference's top team. The senior, who reached 1,000 career collegiate points one week ago today at Bellevue, finished her time in Bismarck the way she played all season: competing relentlessly.
BSC showed signs of life early, trimming a double-digit deficit to six on multiple occasions in the first half. Back-to-back threes by Aleah McPherson had the deficit down to six again at 26-32 just moments into the second quarter, and Stormer's steal and layup at the 7:44 mark of the second quarter pulled the Mystics within seven at 31-38. But Dakota State's Hamtyn Heinz answered each Mystics run with a barrage of threes -- finishing with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six three-pointers -- and BSC could never fully close the gap.
Aleah McPherson provided a strong complementary effort with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-11 from beyond the arc. Alionna Lawrence added 12 points off the bench, and Harper Harris chipped in eight points and five rebounds.
The Mystics shot 37.2% from the field and 33.3% from three, with their best quarter coming in the third when they connected on 53.3% of their field goal attempts and five of ten three-point tries to keep the game from getting out of hand. BSC's bench contributed 39 points, a bright spot in a difficult afternoon.
Dakota State's Tabor Teel, the Frontier Conference Player-of-the-Year, finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Caitlin Dyer added 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three.
The loss closes out a Bismarck State season that included a hard-fought run to the conference tournament after the Mystics secured the eighth and final playoff spot in the final home game of the regular season. In their inaugural season in the Frontier and in the NAIA, BSC showed they belong, becoming the first team to make a conference tournament since the transition. It marks the beginning of a bright future for the program competing in four-year athletics and playing in NAIA's premier arena, the Bavendick Center, next season.
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