Lady Royals win their opening game over Fort Berthold 64-51

Article by Chuck Wickenhofer, Devils Lake Journal Sports, November 3rd, 2016.

The Lake Region State College Royals came into the season with a lot of new faces after going to their 16th straight regional tournament and making the NJCAA tournament.

While it took some time for the team to get it together offensively on opening night, the Royals leaned on their defense to beat the Fort Berthold Lady Storm 64-51.

Bismarck State transfer Annie Jorgenson sparked the Royals early, scoring most of her 12 points in the opening half of the first quarter.

The Storm stayed in the game by draining a few outside shots and keeping the Royals off-balance. After a sloppy first period, the score was 16-11 Royals, but the Storm outscored the home team 21-10 in the second to take a 32-26 lead into halftime.

Though the Royals moved the ball well all night, the shots weren't falling. However, head coach Danny Mertens indicated that he isn't concerned about the team's shooting problems early on.

"Maybe it's just those first game jitters," Mertens said. "I'm not disappointed. There's only one way to get out of a slump, and that's to shoot your way out of it."

The offense picked up somewhat for the Royals in the third period as they were able to force a lot of Storm turnovers and translate them into points inside. The team was able to build a steady lead throughout the period, outscoring the Storm 23-9 to take a 53-41 lead into the fourth period.

Mertens attributed the turnaround to a halftime adjustment that allowed the Royals to play to their strengths.

"We were in a zone press in the second quarter and we switched to a man press at halftime," Mertens said. "That helped us score inside when we couldn't make some outside shots. We got a lot of layups in the third quarter."

The inside game should be a strength for the Royals this season, with 5'11" Cassidy Nelson and 6' Mer Gach providing a distinct size advantage over most teams in the conference. Fort Berthold had trouble matching the Royals' size, though they got their inside game working some in the fourth period to cut the lead to four midway through the quarter.

Consecutive buckets by freshman Emily Schafer put the Royals ahead

57-49 late, and Nelson got the inside game working to ensure the victory. She finished with a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds.

"That's a tribute to Cass," Mertens said. "That's why she was fifth or sixth in the conference in scoring last year. If we can get that out of her every night, good things are going to happen."

Though the Royals were able to pull out the victory, their shooting will likely need to improve as the season rolls along. The team shot

1-for-22 from behind the arc, 33 percent overall, and just under 40 percent from the free throw line.

Mertens said that though the offense sputtered all night, defense kept the Royals in the game.

"That's why I preach in practice that if you play D, you're going to be in every game," Mertens said. "You hold a team to 51 points, you're going to win a lot of basketball games."

In addition to Nelson's double-double, Jorgenson added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Schafer contributed nine points and seven rebounds. The Royals will be at home for the Sleep Inn tournament Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. They'll face off against Leech Lake and Turtle Mountain this weekend.