BOX SCORE

FARGO, N.D. -  The Northern State University women's basketball squad put together a great effort in a bid to upset Division I North Dakota State Friday night in Fargo, N.D., but the Bison held the Wolves off down the stretch in registering a 64-56 nonconference victory at the Bison Sports Arena on the campus of North Dakota State.

The loss drops the Wolves to 3-7 overall on the year, and the nonconference game will not count against the Wolves' 0-4 NSIC mark.

The Wolves jumped out to a 12-6 advantage after the first 5:35 of the game behind two three-pointers from sophomore Emily Becken.

With 8:58 to go in the first half the Wolves increased their lead to 21-11 before the Bison mounted a 17-10 run of their own over the remainder of the half to push the halftime score to 31-28 in favor of Northern State.

The two teams battled to a 42-42 tie at the 11:11 mark of the second half before the Wolves pushed a lead to 48-44 with 8:58 to go on a layup by junior Krista Rabenberg. 

The Bison then came back to take the lead 49-48 with 5:57 to go on a three-pointer by Ashley Samuelson, and that lead would not be surmounted by the Wolves the remainder of the game as the Bison countered every Wolves basket in earning the 64-56 victory.

Emily Becken turned in her highest scoring night of her young career with her game-high 27-point effort on 11-15 shooting from the floor, including 5-8 from three-point land.  That total eclipses her 23-point effort against the Colorado School of Mines in the Wolves second game of the season.  She added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal while playing all 40 minutes of the game.

Fellow sophomore Jenna Higgins was the only other member of the squad in double figures with her 10-point offensive effort. She also recorded seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 23 minutes on the court.

Mikayla Barondeau, also a sophomore, led the squad with 13 rebounds while adding five points on the offensive end in 40 minutes on the court.

The Wolves will look to rebound tomorrow night when they return to the friendly confines of Wachs Arena to face Chadron State after nearly a one-month hiatus.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Northern State University is an NCAA Division II affiliated school participating in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

**GO WOLVES**