Moorhead, Minn. – In tonight's NSIC match-up, the Wolves narrowed the scoring margin since their last loss, however were defeated once again by the Dragons. Northern State is now 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the NSIC, while MSU Moorhead improves to 9-1 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the conference.

MSU Moorhead jumped to an early lead in the match, closing out the first quarter with an eight point lead. With two minutes left in the first half, the Dragons gained their largest lead of 17 points, giving themselves a 41-26 advantage after two completed quarters.

NSU battled back in the final twenty minutes of action, outscoring MSUM 40-28. With 1:39 remaining, freshman Jessi Marti drained a three-point shot to put the Wolves within one point. After both teams swapped possessions, Jacky Volkert of MSUM was fouled with two seconds left on the clock. Volkert went on to sink both free-throws to seal the 69-66 victory for the Dragons.

As a unit, Northern State shot 50.0 percent from the floor, 18.2 percent from the arc and 88.9 percent from the foul line. The Wolves posted more rebounds, assists and blocks than the Dragons, recording 33, 14 and three respectively. NSU tallied 30 points in the paint, 14 second chance points and 20 points off the bench.

Miranda Ristau led the Wolves with 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Ristau shot 9-of-18 from field goal range and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Junior Jill Conrad followed with 18 points and three assists, shooting 63.6 percent from the floor. Freshman Brianna Kusler was the final player to score in double-digits, notching a total of 15 in 23 minutes of play.

The Wolves will return home to Wachs Arena to face Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State on Friday, December 30^th and Saturday, December 31^st. Action will begin at 6 p.m. against the Golden Bears and will continue at 4 p.m. versus the Mavericks.