St. Paul, Minn. – The No. 19 Northern State University women's basketball team bounced back in league action, defeating Concordia-St. Paul 86-71. The Wolves improved to 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the NSIC, following their first cross divisional game of the season.
The Wolves out-scored the Golden Bears in each of the four quarters, notching a game high 24 points in the second. They tallied their largest lead of 20 points, with just three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Northern shot 50.0 percent from the floor and the arc, as well as 86.4 percent from the foul line in the win.
Northern more than doubled Concordia's rebound total in the game, notching 46 boards to the Golden Bears 22, including 15 offensive grabs. The Wolves added 44 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers, 12 points off the bench, and nine second chance points. Northern added 19 points from the foul line, going 11-of-12 in the second half. Defensively, NSU forced ten turnovers and tallied seven team blocks.
Miranda Ristau led the team matching her career high of 29 points. The senior went 12-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, while adding seven rebounds, and a team leading six assists and five blocks.
Alexis Tappe was second on the team with a career high 17 points, shooting 80.0 percent from the floor. Tappe tallied six rebounds and five assists, while notching one of the team's three made 3-pointers.
Jill Conrad rounded out the double digit scorers for the Wolves notching her first double-double of the season with ten points and ten rebounds. She tallied three assists and one block as well.
Brianna Kusler and
Jessi Marti each notched nine points and four assists in the win, as Kusler was second on the team with nine rebounds.
Gabby Laimer and Haley Froelich led the team off the bench with three points apiece, notching one and two assists respectively.
Brynn Flakus,
Sara Tvedt, and Alayna Johnson added the final team points for NSU, notching two each.
The Wolves return to action tomorrow afternoon for a 2 p.m. match-up against the Mavericks of Minnesota State on New Year's Eve.
