Relying on brute strength and surprising athleticism from its towering front line, DSU ended Tabor's magical season with a 77-58 victory over the Bluejays in the round of 16 at the 15th NAIA national championships.

"This is actually the first time all year I thought-I don't think 'outplayed underneath' is the way to put it-but I thought we got handled in the middle," coach Rusty Allen said. "We had some success inside, but they had a lot of success with their post players."

Coming into the tournament, the team from Madison, S.D., had lost four of its last seven games and sported 20-10 record. The Trojans reached Sioux City by virtue of an at-large bid after competing in the Dakota Conference.

A first-round win over Shawnee State (25-7) Ohio set up the 8:30 a.m. matchup with the Bluejays, who were advancing to the round of 16 for the second consecutive year.

In the early going, Tabor appeared up to the challenge.

Behind the inside play of Donya Anderson and Emily Vogts and the front-court leadership of Erica Hemmert and Jill Hein, Tabor stayed with the muscular Trojans.

When Hein scored five consecutive points, the Bluejays built a 13-8 lead with 14:14 left in the opening half.

But Dakota State began finding success inside on the shoulders of its agile front line-Sara Nelson (6-foot-2), Stacey Dunklau (6-2), Maria Gengler (6-2) and Lara Tewes (6-1).

"They're all athletic," Allen said of the foursome. "We've played against teams that have big people like that, but they're not all that athletic so they don't run the court that well or move that quickly.

"These four post players today were all four really good players."

Still, the Bluejays hung tough and led by a single point at 17-16 with 10:34 left in the half.

But DSU used a combination of inside-outside offense to open a 36-25 lead with just under three minutes to play.

Still leading 39-28 with less than a minute left, an Erica Dechant 3-pointer in the final seconds cut the DSU lead to single digits as the game entered halftime with the Trojans on top, 39-31.

The Bluejays, who entered the tournament with the goal of playing in the Final Four, weren't ready to concede just yet.

A pair of baskets from Emily Vogts and a short jumper from Dechant cut the lead to four at 41-37 at the 16:59 mark.

Unfazed, the Trojans again began pounding the ball inside and eventually reconstructed the double-digit lead at 55-44 with 10:17 to play.

"Part of our game plan was to try to pressure the perimeter and keep them from establishing their inside game. While we did that on a few occasions, we weren't able to be consistent over the course of the game," Allen said.

A basket by Stacie Herman and another 3-pointer from Dechant rekindled hopes and gave the Tabor faithful something to cheer about as the lead dwindled to 55-49.

But the comeback attempt failed as all too often, Tabor came up empty on its offensive end despite 18 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, DSU continued to make high-percentage shots from close range.

"Oftentimes we weren't able to convert and although we played hard, we just weren't nearly as strong underneath the basket as they were. I thought that played a really big part in this game," Allen said. "The other big issue is when you get to this level, you have to make some shots. They made shots and we didn't."

With the season slipping away, the Bluejays tried to force the Trojans' hand with a full-court press.

But DSU was up to the challenge and made Tabor pay the price with easy transition baskets on several occasions.

The lead grew to as many as 21 points before the final horn signaled the end of Tabor's season with a 19-point loss.

Dechant closed her Tabor career with perhaps her finest outing, scoring a game-high 15 points while Hemmert added 12 and Hein 10, all in the first half.

As a team, Tabor shot 33 percent from the field (23-70) and 5-for-23 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Nelson led DSU 14 points, Gengler added 12 and Tewes 10 as the Trojans made 32 of 58 shots from the field (55 percent), including 17 of 27 (63 percent) in the second half as Tabor's gambling defense came up snake eyes on several occasions.

DSU won the rebounding war, 45-32.

"I tip my hat to (Dakota State)," Allen said. "I thought they had a really nice game plan and we got beat by a good team that played a really nice game.

"There are just very few teams in this tournament that aren't going to be tough to beat if you don't play your best game."

With the loss, Tabor ended its season with a 28-5 record, including an 18-0 conference record and a regular-season championship while Dakota State moved into the quarter-finals at 22-10.

"It was a great season," Allen said. "We had so many things to feel proud of throughout the year and I really appreciated our seniors and all the time and work they put into it."

Concluding their careers were four-year seniors Erica Hemmert, Jill Hein, Shannon Kroeker and Stephanie Stuber, two-year player Erica Dechant, and Katie Tedder, who donned Tabor blue for one year.

"We had a losing season the year before these seniors came here and we've put together four consecutive winning seasons under their leadership," Allen said. "Two of those seasons were better than 20 wins, two of those seasons were conference championships and two of those were Sweet 16 appearances at the national championships.

"They've set a great example for the returning players who will have a lot of confidence next year because of them," he added. "Because of these seniors, we're now able to recruit a higher level of athlete to the Tabor College basketball program."

Tabor 65, Eastern Oregon 58

First round game

Tabor overcame some disrespect from the NAIA national tournament selection committee and a hot Eastern Oregon University team on Wednesday.

Even with a 27-4 record and an undefeated KCAC season, the Bluejays were awarded a No. 2 seed against EOU (24-7), winners of 12 straight games and arguably the most dangerous No. 7 seed in the field.

"I had watched Eastern Oregon on videotape quite a lot and I knew they were tough," coach Rusty Allen said.

"They lost to Montana Western (ranked No. 8 in NAIA Div. I) on a fluke play and I could tell by watching the film they were athletic, they had some good athletes and a really good post game."

Tabor welcomed back the services of starting center Emily Vogts after a three-game suspension. Vogts looked happy to be back on the court, scoring six of Tabor's first eight points.

EOU's largest lead, 13-10, came with 10:25 left in the opening half. But the Bluejays responded with a 9-0 run to open a 19-13 lead at the 6:44 mark.

EOU answered with a 6-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Andra Peterson to tie the score.

It wasn't until the score was tied for the seventh time, at 21, that Tabor began to establish breathing room.

Leading 27-25 with 2:57 left in the half, Tabor closed the half on an 11-2 run climaxed by an Erica Hemmert 30-foot rainbow that found the pot of gold as the buzzer sounded. Tabor led, 38-27.

For Hemmert, the half exorcised memories of last year's season-ending game with Morningside College in which she fouled out with more than 14 minutes remaining.

"Right before the game, Coach Allen told me to be smart and don't get fouls," Hemmert said. "I told him not to worry, and that I had a goal not to foul in the first 10 minutes.

"I didn't want to do what I did last year, but once I got on the floor I just wanted to play smart and play tough," she added. "I was very focused on this game."

Although Tabor hoped to erase any doubts about the final outcome of the game early in the second half, the Mountaineers would have none of it.

The Bluejays still owned a double-digit lead at 44-34 with 15:44 remaining, but could not deliver the knockout punch.

After Tedder scored to give Tabor a 48-39 lead with 14:21 left, EOU launched a 9-0 run to tie the score at 48 four minutes later.

The Mountaineers had four chances to regain the lead, but could not make the crucial bucket.

"Momentum shifts are really hard to measure in the game of basketball," Allen said. "I don't know how much difference it would have made, but I was sure glad they never took the lead."

Still tied at 53, Tabor got back-to-back field goals by the Hemmert, the reigning KCAC Player-of-the-Year, and six consecutive free throws down the stretch-two each from Hemmert, Vogts and Herman-to hold on for the seven-point win.

Hemmert led the Bluejays with 16 points. Herman added 14 and Vogts 13 as the Bluejays hit 22 of 56 (39 percent) shots from the field.

Adria Layne led three Mountaineers in double figures with 13 points as EOU shot 23-for-63 (36 percent) from the field but 4-for-17 (23 percent) from the 3-point line.

Tabor made 13 of 18 (78 percent) free throws while EOU managed eight of 14 (57 percent).

"Our defense made the difference," Allen said. "We really guarded hard the whole game and I was really pleased with our effort.