GAME NOTES
SETTING THE STAGE: The Northern State women's basketball team will travel to Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Bemidji State on Saturday for Northern Sun Intercollegiate action. Tip off for Friday's game is set for 6 p.m. and Saturday's match-up will start at 4 p.m.
THE SERIES: UMD currently has the upper hand in its record with NSU with 15 wins and five losses against the Wolves since 1998 including a 67-63 overtime win last season. Northern State dominates the series with Bemidji State with an impressive 20-2 record since the '98 season. The Wolves won the first 12 match ups between the two teams.
SIZING UP THE COMPETITION: Minnesota Duluth was held to a program-low 29 points when they were defeated by Minnesota State, Mankato (49-29) on the road last weekend. Leading the Bulldogs was forward Shelly Stemper with eight points.
Bemidji State suffered two NSIC losses last weekend when they were defeated by Minnesota State, Mankato, 77-73, on Friday and 57-54 to Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday. Shannon Thompson led the Beavers with 13 points against MSU.
LAST TIME OUT: The Wolves finished up the first half of NSIC play last weekend when they defeated Mary Saturday night in a 60-57 decision in Aberdeen.
With 3:35 left in the game, Emily Becken drove hard to the rim to tie the score at 54 each after trailing the Maruders by as many as nine earlier in the half.
Neither team scored for the next two and a half minutes until Krista Rabenberg knocked down two free-throws with 1:02 left in the game. With three seconds left in the game, Mary's Mckenzie Foster hit a three to give NSU a one-point advantage. A second later, Becken was fouled and sequentially knocked down both shots from the charity stripe. The Wolves hit seven of ten free-throws in the final minute of the game to hold on to the win
WOLVES RANKED IN CENTRAL REGION: The first Regional Rankings of the season were released on Wednesday with Northern State sitting in fifth place. Leading the Central Region is Wayne State. Augustana sits right below NSU at sixth while Winona State and Concordia-St. Paul are ranked seventh and ninth respectively. The next rankings will be released nest Wednesday.
HIGHS FOR REINSCHMIDT: While she may not have set the record for most points scored in an indvidual game (held by Maurie Simon with 44 points in 1975), Reinschmidt's career-high 38 points in Northern's win over Minnesota, Crookston is the most points scored by an NSU player since Jammie Coyle's 37-point performance on Nov. 7, 1999 against Francis Marion University. Reinschmidt's contribution sets her at top of the NSIC single-game season high point total as well as the single-game season high for field goals made with 17.
GOOD DEFENSE: Northern currently ranks second in conference standings behind Wayne State in points allowed giving up an average of just 59. 5 points a game. The Wolves also sit second in field goal percentage at 46.5 percent. NSU is third in the NSIC grabbing an average of 27.47 defensive rebounds per game.
TIED AT HALF: Saturday's game against Mary marks the first time Northern State has been tied at half time during the 2010-2011 season. Both teams sat at 27 going into the break. The Wolves are now 1-0 with a tie going into half, while they have won nine games when they lead at half and have earned victory in two games when they trail at the end of the first period.
WHO 2 WATCH 4:
•Northern State: Jodi Reinschmidt, averaging 15.8 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, averaging 18.8 points since win at Upper Iowa.
•Minnesota Duluth: Kelsey Hewitt, averaging 13. 5 points per game, and 1.6 steals per game, also leads team with 7.4 rebounds per game.
•Bemidji State: Ellie Wesling, second on team in scoring with 9.1 per game, leads team in rebounding with six boards a game.
FOLLOW THE WOLVES: Follow the the Wolves year-round on their website, www.nsuwolvesathletics.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/northernstatewolves.
