Box Score
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Down by as many as 13 in the first half, it could have been bad news for the Northern State University women's basketball team. But a tenacious attitude and a refusal to play give-up basketball gave the Wolves a shot at a win in the late going before the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs staved off a late rally to take a 64-60 win in Game 1 of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Holiday HoopsFest.
The loss drops the Wolves to 2-2 overall. UMD, which was picked to finish 10th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll, just one spot ahead of the Wolves, picked up its first win of the season and is now 1-2 overall. Both teams are 0-0 in the conference, as the HoopsFest contests do not count for conference standings.
After finding themselves down by double-digits in the first half, the Wolves clambered back to within five at 31-26 at the break.
The Bulldogs then moved back out to a 9-point lead at the 13:42 mark before back-to-back jumpers from
Jodi Reinschmidt (St. Michael, Minn.) sparked an 11-2 NSU run, capped by a pair of
Lennea Mueller (Custer, S.D.) steals, which led to two Wolves layups to tie the score at 47 with nine and a half minutes to play.
Again, the Bulldogs started to pull away, carving out another 10-point lead with 4:39 left, but again the Wolves had an answer, cutting the lead to just three points on a
Mikayla Barondeau (Frederick, S.D.) trey with 15 seconds left on the clock.
A Monica Mayry free throw just three seconds later, however, put the Bulldogs back up by four, making it a two possession game. This time, the Wolves were unable to convert, missing a late 3-point attempt and losing possession on the ensuing jump-ball rebound.
Barondeau, who was 2-for-2 from 3-point range on the day, led the Wolves with 16 points. Reinschmidt had 11 points and eight rebounds, while a trio of Wolves finished with eight points apiece.
UMD's Jheri Booker led all players with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting. Kelsey Hewitt also added 18 for the Bulldogs.
The Wolves will be back in action tomorrow, taking on Bemidji State on Day 2 of HoopsFest action. The Beavers took Upper Iowa to overtime on Saturday before falling by a final score of 112-108.
