BROOKINGS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -The South Dakota State Women’s basketball team isn’t accustomed to being in 3rd place in the Summit League at any point in the season. But the regular season is winding down, so every game takes on even more importance as they try to catch the Bison.

The South Dakota State women’s basketball team outscored North Dakota 77-32 over the final three quarters to beat the Fighting Hawks 94-48 Thursday night at First Bank & Trust Arena.

Up just one at 18-17 after 10 minutes, SDSU put together a 21-1 run to end the second period and was dominant the rest of the way. The Jackrabbits scored 33 points in the final quarter on nearly 70% shooting.

Brooklyn Meyer posted her sixth double-double of the year and the 19th of her career with a 21-point, 15-rebound outing. The senior also contributed five assists and two steals and went 9-for-13 from the floor, all in just 23 minutes of action. SDSU got points from 12 different players, including eight Jackrabbits with at least seven points. After Meyer, Madison Mathiowetz and Maggie Hartwig scored 11 points apiece, then Katie Vasecka chipped in nine. Emilee Fox and Hadley Thul each scored eight and Hilary Behrens and Brooklynn Felchle had seven apiece.

Thul, in her second game as a starter, added seven rebounds and three assists to her stat line. Hartwig tallied five boards. Mahli Abdouch dished four assists to go with her five points. The Jackrabbits finished the game shooting 54% from the field, the 10th game this year SDSU has been better than .500. The team out-rebounded the Hawks, 45-26, and had a 22-10 advantage in assists. UND was held to 35% shooting and turned the ball over 18 times, which resulted in 17 points for SDSU. Three UND players scored 10 points apiece – Lauren Hillesheim, Mackenzie Hughes and Walker Demers. Hughes also gave out six assists and Demers notched four blocks. SDSU is 19-6 overall and 9-2 in the Summit League. UND is 7-19 on the year and 3-9 in conference games.

NOTES

• SDSU takes a 42-41 lead in the all-time series.
• Brooklyn Meyer moved in fourth place on SDSU’s career scoring chart with 1,867 points and 10th place on the career rebounds chart with 772 boards,
• South Dakota State is one win shy of reaching 20 wins for the 15th straight season.

UP NEXT

South Dakota State hosts Kansas City Saturday afternoon at First Bank & Trust Arena. Tip is set for 2 p.m. with National Girls & Women in Sports Day activities beginning at 1 p.m.

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DICKINSON — Just before noon today, law enforcement responded to reports of a man being shot in the vicinity of the 3600 block of the East Business Loop in Dickinson. The public was notified of likely travel delays and posted detours due to an ongoing investigation.

The Stark County Sheriff’s Office is now reporting that a 45-year-old man has died from a gunshot wound after being transported to CHI St. Alexius Hospital. The location of the incident is noted by the Sheriff’s Office as 3634 Interstate 94 Business Loop East.

Public records indicate that Old 10 Defense, a shooting range with simulators, is located at the address mentioned by law enforcement.

The name of the man who has died has not been released yet.

At the time, law enforcement said that there was no anticipated danger to the public. However, the Stark County Sheriff’s Office is now saying a 46-year-old male suspect was detained after “a short pursuit ensued.”

Highway 10 is currently closed, according to reports, and travel detours are in place to allow for further investigation of the incident. Several area agencies, including the Dickinson Police Department, Dickinson Fire & EMS, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Stark County Sheriff’s Office and North Dakota Highway Patrol responded to the call.

This is a developing story. More information will be available in further coverage in The Dickinson Press.

By: Michael Achterling

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Events, concerts, community initiatives and educational opportunities will headline a year of celebration in North Dakota for the 250th birthday of the United States.

The ND250 Commission has awarded about $142,000 through two rounds of its Community Initiatives Grant program for events and projects around the state, said Melissa Klocke-Joyce, program coordinator. The programs and events will tell the story of North Dakota’s role in the country’s early history, she said. 

“It gives communities an opportunity to get creative,” Klocke-Joyce said.

The ND250 Commission made awards to 15 initiatives on Wednesday, in addition to five grants awarded in November. About $32,000 remains for the final round of grants, with applications accepted through April 1.

Bill Peterson, director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota chair of the ND250 Commission, said the grants represent more than funding. 

“They’re an investment in how communities across North Dakota share their piece of the American story,” Peterson said in a statement. “From murals and musical theater to lectures and living history, these projects help connect people to the past in ways that are meaningful, engaging, and rooted in local pride.”

The program also awards participating North Dakota schools up to $1,000 to be used as field trip grants to bring students to the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck to see two exhibits dedicated to the anniversary – the Founders Museum exhibit and the Heritage Center’s own ND250 exhibit that will be installed by July 4, Klocke-Joyce said.

A national Founders Museum exhibit will feature content provided by the White House, including portraits of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and their insights on what independence meant to them, said Kara Haff, public information officer for the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

The content will be available through a large touch screen at the Heritage Center that will show the portraits and play videos. A second kiosk will be installed at the Capitol.

“They are also featuring some of the females that were involved as well … Martha Washington will be featured and a number of other females in addition to the men,” Haff said.

The Heritage Center will add an ND250 display in the Governor’s Gallery titled ND250 Roadtrip: Our American Story that will feature the history of the territory and an envisioned future of the next 250 years.

One grant was awarded to the Pembina Historical Society in November and will commission a colonial-style cider press for their community orchard.

“We really want to try to tie in celebrating the 250th, and what better way to do it than demonstrating how people lived back in that time,” Klocke-Joyce said. 

Woodworker Talon Stammen, designer of the Pembina cider press said he hopes the portable press will be used across the region because that’s how colonists lived, through shared infrastructure and equipment.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation received a $10,000 ND250 grant to create lesson plans for North Dakota students about the history and ideals behind the Declaration of Independence.

Matt Briney, spokesperson for the library foundation, said the money will be used to provide a stipend for North Dakota teachers to design the lesson plans.

He said studies, like one released in 2023 by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, identified that only two-thirds of U.S. adults could name the three branches of government.

Briney added the lessons will be free for other teachers to use.

Other grants awarded include $10,000 for a project in Sheyenne to record oral histories from regional residents; $5,000 for the city of Beach for a community art sculpture; and $9,000 for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa for a public historical exhibit interpreting treaty-making, land negotiations, federal policy shifts and cultural traditions;.

Klocke-Joyce said she expects events to celebrate America’s milestone birthday will continue to be announced, and the ND250 website will update its calendar as more plans are finalized.

Haff encouraged organizers of any of the 250th birthday events across the state to take photos, video and document as much as they can because the State Archives wants their content to create an in-depth catalog of America’s milestone birthday. 

“One hundred years from now, when they are reflecting back on what we’ve accomplished, they can pull this out and say, ‘oh my gosh, look at how amazing ND250 was,’” Haff said.