- Sophomore Whitney Jensen leads DMACC with 19 points and 13 rebounds
- Sophomore Chloe Costello comes away with 14 points and freshman Alivia Carr adds 12 points
- Bears shoot 41 percent in the win
Sophomore Whitney Jensen of Remsen scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the DMACC women's basketball team defeated United Tribes Technical College (UTCC), 86-71, in the North Central District championship game March 7 at Bismarck, N.D., to advance to the 2026 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Women's basketball Championship for the first time in school history.
Sophomore Chloe Costello of Northwood had 14 points and freshman Alivia Carr of Bettendorf scored 12 as the Bears, ranked 24th in the most recent Division II poll from the NJCAA, improved to 25-8 for the season.
UTTC, which ended the season with a 13-15 record, began the game by making 10 of its first 15 shots, including four three-pointers, and draining five of six shots from the free throw line for a 29-18 lead with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the opening period.
"I think they were just so pumped and ready to go," DMACC women's basketball coach Jocelyn Kovarik said of UTTC's start. "They came out prepared and shooting and that home court advantage was nice too.
"Defensively we just had to take a step further up and get a hand in their face. During a time out we talked about getting a step further up where we had to be (on defense) and that really helped."
DMACC answered the Thunderbirds start with 15 unanswered points to take a 33-29 advantage into the second quarter and pushed their lead to even more in the first seven minutes of the second period behind a 28-6 run. That gave the Bears a 46-35 lead at the 2:39 to play in the half and they never looked back.
DMACC led 53-37 at halftime and stretched their lead to as many as 22 points in the second half.
"At the end of the first quarter when we made that comeback, I saw a little intensity that we've seen in previous games," Kovarik said, adding that UTTC's top scorer, Ronessa Sazue picking up her third foul in the second quarter didn't hurt DMACC's effort.
Sazue led the Thunderbirds with 24 points and Carlei Plainfeather added 17.
DMACC shot 41 percent in the win, making 32 of 79 field goal attempts. The Bears were 6-of-25 from three-point range and 16-of-17 from the free throw line.
UTTC was 25-of-70 from the field for 36 percent. The Thunderbirds made eight of 26 shots from beyond the arc and connected of 13 of 15 attempts from the free throw line.
Jensen's 13 rebounds led the Bears to a 44-28 advantage on the boards. Freshman Mariam Omran of Giza, Egypt, had six rebounds and freshman Jordan Valley of Waverly and sophomore Aunasia Dunn of Kansas City, Mo., finished with four apiece.
Valley led DMACC in assists with seven and Jensen had a team-leading two steals.
Seedings and pairings for the 2-26 NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship will be announced March 10. The tournament will be played March 16 to 21 at Hickory, N.C.