BOX SCORE
ABERDEEN, S.D. – In a game that featured seven tie scores and six lead changes, the Northern State University women's basketball team fell short of an upset over the #4 regionally ranked Dragons of MSU Moorhead in a hard fought battle 73-67, preventing head coach Curt Fredrickson from winning his 666th game.
The loss drops the Wolves to 9-10 overall on the year and 5-7 in the Northern Sun. The defeat marks the fifth time this year the Wolves have lost a game by six points or less.
MSU Moorhead controlled the game throughout the entire first half, leading from the opening tip until halftime and entering the locker room with a 33-30 lead at the break.
Northern State grabbed it's first tie of the ballgame 41-41 at the 14:51 mark of the second half on a jumper by junior Jodi Reinschmidt. The Wolves grabbed their first lead two minutes later 46-45 on a jumper by sophomore Colleen Doerr.
The two teams then battled back-and-forth until there was 1:41 remaining in the game and the Dragons leading 67-65. The Wolves missed their shot for the lead and an ensuing foul and two made free throws put the Dragons up by four 69-65.
The Wolves next trip down the court resulted in no points again, and they were then forced to play the “foul for free throws” game, and MSU Moorhead made all of their free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
Sophomore Mikayla Barondeau led the team with 18 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor. She added eight rebounds, three assists, four steals, and a block in 39 minutes of action.
Fellow sophomore Emily Becken followed closely behind with 16 points on 5-13 shooting, including 3-5 from downtown.
Junior Krista Rabenberg added 11 points, four rebounds, and four blocked shots on the defensive end.
The Wolves will look to regroup tomorrow against the University of Minnesota-Crookston, who lost tonight to the University of Mary 81-75 in Bismarck, N.D. The Wolves beat the Golden Eagles at the NSIC Holiday HoopsFest earlier this season 62-58.
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**
