Box Score Box Score
Coach Fred's Post-game Comments

ABERDEEN, S.D. - The visiting Bemidji State Beavers held the lead through much of the night, taking the lead at the 10:30 mark of the first half and not giving it up until the 2:24 mark of the second.  But it was the Northern State Wolves who were left with the tally in the win column when time ran out, erasing as much as a nine-point deficit en-route to a 53-50 win over the Beavers Friday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball action.

The win, NSU's fourth straight, moves the Wolves to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in league play.  The Beavers slip to 6-4 on the season and 2-4 in the loop.

The Wolves began the night with the lead, but a 9-0 Bemidji State run midway through the opening half turned the scoreboard tables.  BSU stretched their lead to as many as nine with 4:40 left in the half, but six free throws and a Kara Hofschild bucket in the final four and a half minutes trimmed that lead to just two at the break.  Hofschild hit four of those six free throws, scoring all six of her points on the night in that stretch.

BSU stretched the lead to six on three occasions in the second half, but could not keep a scrappy NSU squad at bay.  Down six with just over six minutes to play, NSU used two Sarah Hintz free throws, a Devon Brecke bucket and a Megan Mutchler free throw to trim the lead to one, then took back the lead on another Brecke score with 2:24 left in the game.

That lead, however, was short-lived, as Ellie Wessling drained a pair of free throws to put BSU back on top with 1:38 left.

The two teams then traded turnovers, giving NSU the ball back with under a minute left and coming out of a timeout.  NSU sophomore Rachel Krogman put the Wolves on top for good with a driving left-handed bucket with 46 seconds left.  The Wolves then survived three missed BSU shots in the waning seconds of the half, sinking two of four free throws to make it a 3-point final.

Brecke finished with 14 points, including NSU's lone 3-pointer of the night, to match a career-high for the freshman.  Krogman added 13, while Hintz and junior Alison Kusler finished with eight apiece.

The Beavers were led by Morgan Lee, who hit 3-of-6 treys en-route to a game-high 17 points.  Jessie Althoff added 11, while Ellie Wessling had eight points and 11 boards.

The Wolves are back at center court tomorrow, hosting Minnesota, Crookston in another NSIC match-up.  Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in Wachs Arena.