Vikings Defeat Prairie Wolves; Upset Doane

The past two games for the Dana College Women’s Basketball team have made Coach Brenda Mechels hold her breath.  Dana needed overtime to defeat Nebraska Wesleyan 79-72 in Lincoln over the weekend.  Then the Vikings turned in a great performance in upsetting nationally ranked Doane College at home Wednesday night 84-81.

Nebraska Wesleyan dominated Dana in the early stages of Saturday’s game.  The Prairie Wolves help a 16-6 led with 13 minutes to go in the half.  Dana responded with an 8-4 run to pull within four points as Amanda Bryant (SO, Treynor, NE) hit a lay-up.  Kayla Hofstetter (FR, Lawrence, NE) took an Amy Nichol (JR, Des Moines, IA) pass and drew the Vikings within two points.  Heidi Gowery (FR, St. Helena, NE) gave Dana its first lead of the game with 3:48 left in the half as she drove the lane for a lay-up.  Following a NWU basket, Tricia Trotter (FR, Treynor, IA) drained a three-pointer to give Dana a two point lead.  Nebraska Wesleyan would rally has the half ended and would take a three point lead into the locker-room.

The Prairie Wolves extended their lead to 5 points in the opening minutes of the second half.  Jillian Bryant (FR, McCook, NE) brought Dana within a point.  Tricia Trotter would give the Vikings a lead with a soft jumper.   The Vikings would extend their lead to as many as six points.  The Vikings would hold the lead until the final minute as NWU drained a three pointer with 45 seconds left to tie the game up.  Each team had a chance to win it in regulation, but both missed open looks. Dana would outscore Nebraska Wesleyan 17-10 in the overtime to claim a season sweep. 

Tricia Trotter scored her collegiate high with 25 points.  Trotter also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out eight assists.  Amanda Bryant added 19 points and seven rebounds.  Heidi Gowery dished out four assists and chipped in 13 points.  Amy Nichol would score only four points, but would pull down a game high 12 boards.

Dana played host to NAIA top 25 Doane College on Valentines Day.  The Vikings would show no love to the Tigers on this day.  Dana would open the game on a 12-0 run and took the fight out of Doane.  Amy Nichol put the final touches on the opening run as she made an uncontested rebound.  The Vikings held the Tigers at bay until the final two minutes of the half.  Doane would take the lead on a made free throw, but Dana would tie the game before the halftime whistle.

Momentum looked to be with Doane as the second half started.  The Tigers capitalized on their late success and increased their lead to three points.  Amy Nichol would hit another lay-up to give back the lead to Dana.  The two teams struggled back and forth the remainder of the half.  Dana put the game out of reach and Doane could not mount a significant come back.  In a desperate attempt to reclaim the lead late in the game, Doane was forced to foul.  Amy Nichol would hit four of six rebounds to keep the Vikings in the lead.

Amanda Bryant led the Vikings with 24 points and had three rebounds.  Amy Nichol was 10 of 14 from the free throw line and scored a total of 22 points.  Nichol also had six rebounds and three assists.  Heidi Gowery continued her consistent point guard play as she scored ten points and four assists and rebounds.  Erin Bazata (SO, Randolph, NE) had a game high nine rebounds.

The win over Doane was the first for Dana since the 1992-1993 season.  The Vikings improve to 13-14 on the year and 5-12 in conference play.  Dana will travel to Sioux Center, IA on Saturday to take on Dordt.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00pm.  The conference tournament schedule will be released sometime Sunday afternoon.  The Vikings will likely be on the road Tuesday for the opening round of the tournament.

For more information, contact:


Shad Beam, sports information director, (402) 426-7389, sbeam@dana.edu

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Scott Guzinski, assistant Sports Information Director, (402) 426-7949, sguzinsk@dana.edu