Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State women's basketball team defeated Southwest Minnesota State from home tonight in the first round of the NSIC Championships. The Wolves improve to 22-6 overall and 18-5 in conference action, while the Mustangs end their season 5-24 and 3-20 in the NSIC. Northern will continue the tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. against Wayne State College in the quarterfinals.
The Wolves jumped on the Mustangs early in the match, marking a 17-9 lead after ten minutes of play. NSU did not let up offensively, extending their lead to 44-17 by halftime. The Wolves held their largest lead of the game eight minutes into the third quarter, with a 41 point advantage. It was not until the fourth quarter when Southwest State nearly doubled their score by putting up 23 points to cut the NSU lead to 79-52 by the final buzzer.
As a team, Northern State shot 50.8 percent from field goal range, 75.0 percent from the three-point arc and 60.0 percent from the foul line. The Wolves had four players scoring in double-digits, as
Lauren Deadrick led the way with 15 points.
Devon Brecke and
Miranda Ristau each tallied 14 points, while
Jill Conrad ended the night with 11 total. Conrad went 3-3 from beyond three-point range, helping the Wolves go 6-8 overall. Northern was solid in the paint, notching 40 points from under the basket.
NSU nabbed 43 team rebounds to SMSU's 29 total. The Wolves had 10 different players record rebounds with
Jill Conrad collecting a team-high eight. Defensively, Northern State matched their season-high 10 steals. NSU forced 17 Southwest turnovers and converted them into 18 total points. They held Southwest State to a 31.4 field goal percentage and a 13.3 three-point percentage.
SMSU's lead scorer, Hope Bonlander, recorded 21 total points, shooting 50.0 percent from field goal range and going 8-12 from the foul line. Senior Annesssa Rosch followed up with 14 points, shooting 6-14 from the floor.
Northern State will head down to Sioux Falls, S.D. to face Wayne State College at 12 p.m. on Sunday from the Pentagon.
