By Dale Miller
dale.miller@theindependent.com

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Lane Hickenbottom Independent/Lane Hickenbottom women Hastings College guard Rachel Isherwood shoots a jumper over Dana College freshman Megan Finn Wednesday in Hastings. Lane Hickenbottom Independent/Lane Hickenbottom men Hastings College junior Scott Wissing shoots over a pair of Dana College defenders Wednesday in Hastings. Click Thumbnails to View

Sophomore forward Lindsay Ducey the third leading scorer in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (18.3 ppg) went down with a foot injury after landing on another player in the second half.

A possible broken foot to Ducey marred an otherwise 82-54 Bronco win over Dana that went to form.

"Lindsay hurt her foot, and we'll find out for sure (the extent of the injury) tomorrow," Hastings coach Tony Hobson said. "I don't want to speculate much."

Ducey finished with 11 points in 21 minutes before suffering the injury.

The NAIA Div. II No. 6-rated Broncos (24-4 overall, 13-3 GPAC) didn't miss her in this one, though.

Hastings College outscored the Vikings 21-4 over the first 10 minutes and never saw its lead sink below 12 points.

"We got off to a great start, which we've had a hard time doing lately," Hobson said. "We jumped out to the big lead. I think in the second half we coasted a little bit and didn't play as good."

Junior guard Kay Broekemeier played a big part in the quick start. The Central City graduate made her first five shots including three 3-pointers en route to a game-high 18 points.

"The last two, three games Kay has been shooting the ball well," Hobson said. "Tonight was no exception. She's finding her stroke again. She shot the ball well and got some rebounds."

Broekemeier finished 4-for-7 on 3-pointers.

"It's not going too bad," said Broekemeier of her shooting. "I struggled in the middle of the season, but I've slowly been getting out of my slump."

Rachel Isherwood added 14 points and Ravenna graduate Heather McKeon came off the bench to add 11 for HC.

Although concerned about Ducey, Hobson felt the Broncos did what they needed to do against the Vikings (9-19, 4-12).

"Dana plays hard," he said. "I knew they wouldn't just roll over. We took care of business and did what we needed to do. You hate to see late-season injuries. Kim Faimon rolled her ankle, and that's not serious. Lindsay Ducey hurt her foot, and that could be (serious)."

HASTINGS COLLEGE 82, DANA 54

DANA (9-19, 4-12)

Bryant 4-9 6-8 14, Nichol 3-8 0-0 6, Bazata 1-5 0-0 2, Gowery 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 4-9 3-3 12, Finn 1-4 0-0 3, Hofstetter 3-8 0-0 9, Brooks 1-1 0-0 3, Gerdes 0-0 1-1 1, Trotter 1-3 0-0 2, Parker 0-2 0-0 0, Oestmann 0-0 2-4 2, Carlson 0-1 0-0 0, Larreau 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 12-16 54.

HASTINGS COLLEGE (24-4, 13-3)

Ducey 5-8 1-3 11, VanKirk 0-1 0-0 0, Yamashita 3-6 1-2 8, Broekemeier 6-10 2-2 18, Isherwood 6-10 2-2 14, Farmer 2-4 0-2 5, Faimon 0-6 0-0 0, Cambridge 2-4 0-0 5, Schmaderer 1-2 0-0 2, McKeon 4-6 1-1 11, Kulus 0-2 0-1 0, Lien 4-7 0-0 8. Totals 33-66 7-13 82.

HalftimeHastings College 43, Dana 21. 3-point field goalsDana 6-13 (Nichol 0-1, Williams 1-1, Finn 1-4, Hofstetter 3-5, Brooks 1-1, Trotter 0-1), Hastings College 9-26 (VanKirk 0-1, Yamashita 1-4, Broekemeier 4-7, Isherwood 0-1, Farmer 1-2, Faimon 0-3, Cambridge 1-3, Schmaderer 0-1, McKeon 2-3, Kulus 0-1). Fouled outnone. ReboundsDana 35 (Bryant 9), Hastings College 38 (McKeon, Lien 7). AssistsDana 10 (Bazata 4), Hastings College 23 (Yamashita 6). TurnoversDana 28, Hastings College 14. Total foulsDana 15, Hastings College 17.

* MEN

DANA 61, HASTINGS COLLEGE 56

After seeing its seven-point halftime lead disappear, Dana found a way to make all the breaks go its way over the final five minutes against Hastings College on Wednesday.

The Vikings used a 4-point play by A.J. Arkfeld and a technical on Bronco coach Lance Creech to hold on for a 61-56 victory.

Arkfeld's 4-point pay broke a 42-42 tie with 5 minutes, 15 seconds left to give Dana the lead for good.

Arkfeld, who had a team-high 12 points, also hit both free throws after the technical with 3:52 left to put the Vikings up 50-46. Jon Person sank a 3-pointer 24 seconds later to up the lead to seven, and Hastings (18-10 overall, 8-8 GPAC) never got closer than three points the rest of the way.

"We had 20 turnovers," Creech said. "We have no ability to make a simple play right now. Getting past halfcourt is an adventure with this group."

Creech took the blame for the technical which helped give Dana (13-15, 6-10 ) momentum.

"I didn't do a very good job in that situation," he said. "I should have used a time-out to cool myself off. I put us in a bad situation."

The loss was the 10th in the past 13 games for the Broncos, who fell to sixth place in the conference.

Things looked promising early for the struggling team. Hastings took a 13-6 lead four minutes into the game but then needed over 18 minutes to get its next 13 points.

The Broncos shot 29.2 percent (7-for-24) from the floor in the first half.

"The problem at times is that we only play well when we're shooting well, and that's not good enough," Creech said. "Our guards have to do more directing out there. I have only six time-outs, and I can't use them all in the first half."

One bright spot for Hastings College was Scott Wissing. The Grand Island Central Catholic graduate finished with a game-high 23 points, including seven in the final four minutes to help the Broncos try and hang close down the stretch.

"He played hard," Creech said. "It was a gutsy performance on his end. He hit big shots and I think he defended pretty well."

DANA (13-15, 6-10)

Bross 1-5 2-3 4, Maassen 4-12 4-4 12, Huston 1-5 2-2 4, Mumma 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 4-8 3-5 12, Arkfeld 3-5 5-5 13, Albers 0-3 0-0 0, Genant 2-5 3-3 7, Peterson 0-1 0-0 0, Person 3-5 0-0 7. Totals 19-52 19-22 61.

HASTINGS COLLEGE (18-10, 8-8)

Wissing 9-19 3-5 23, Etzelmiller 1-5 0-0 3, Wamsley 4-9 0-2 8, Spooner 1-7 2-2 5, Prochaska 0-1 0-0 0, Slough 2-2 0-1 5, Vontz 2-5 0-0 6, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Rasby 0-1 0-0 0, Zelasney 1-2 4-4 6. Totals 20-51 9-14 56.

HalftimeDana 29, Hastings College 22. 3-point field goalsDana 4-10 (Huston 0-1, Johnson 1-2, Arkfeld 2-3, Genant 0-2, Person 1-2), Hastings College 7-17 (Wissing 2-6, Etzelmiller 1-2, Spooner 1-1, Prochaska 0-1, Slough 1-1, Vontz 2-5, Rasby 0-1). Fouled outEtzelmiller, Person. ReboundsDana 28 (Maassen 6), Hastings College 41 (Etzelmiller 8). AssistsDana 9 (Huston 4), Hastings College 15 (Slough 4). TurnoversDana 14, Hastings College 20. Total foulsDana 17, Hastings College 19. TechnicalsPerson, Slough, Hastings College bench.