Sioux Falls. S.D. – The Northern State women's basketball team clinched a spot in the NSIC Finals with a 69-64 overtime victory over Winona State. After an 11-point loss to the Warriors earlier this season, the Wolves bounced back to pick up their 23^rd win of the year in comeback fashion. With the loss, No. 5 seeded Winona State concluded their season 15-7 in the NSIC and 22-9 overall.

The Wolves trailed early in the contest, finding themselves in a ten point deficit with 6:34 remaining in the half. In the final four minutes, NSU went on an 11-2 run to close out the first two quarters of play, locked in at 28-27 in favor of Winona State.

Northern proved to be strong defensively in the first half with nine forced turnovers, however the Wolves needed some spark on the offensive end of the court. After shooting 0-for-8 from the floor to open the third quarter, senior Paige Waytashek turned the momentum around for the Wolves with a pair of field goals and two made three-pointers.

NSU captured the lead within the first minute of the fourth quarter, their first since the opening basket. With 2:03 remaining, Jessi Marti knocked down a jumper to give the Wolves a three-point advantage. Winona State's lead scorer, Tara Roelofs answered back on the following possession with a baseline three-point bucket to tie it.

With 15.0 seconds left on the clock, the Wolves were unable to get their final two shots to fall and the two teams would head into a five minute overtime period tied at 58 all. Northern State went uncontested for the first four minutes taking a six point lead with 1:06 remaining. Winona State crept within four in the final seconds, but the Wolves proved to be solid from the line to seal the victory.

As a unit, NSU shot 35.8 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from the three-point arc and a game changing 88.9 percent from the charity stripe, while collecting 28 points in the paint, 12 second chance points and nine points off the bench. The Wolves tallied 42 rebounds, 15 assists, seven steals and four blocks.

Jill Conrad and Paige Waytashek led the offensive attack with 18 points each. Conrad shot 8-of-18 from the floor with eight rebounds, while Waytashek went 6-for-14 with two assists. Miranda Ristau posted a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, also adding four assists and three blocks on the night. Freshmen Brianna Kusler and Jessi Marti followed up with eight and seven points respectively. Kusler notched eight rebounds and Marti added four assists for the Wolves.

Northern will face No. 4 seeded USF tomorrow evening in the NSIC/Sanford Health Championship Game at 5 p.m. from the Sanford Pentagon.

Last Match Up

• The Wolves defeated Sioux Falls 63-62 on the road earlier this season.
• Miranda Ristau tallied a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds, followed by Jill Conrad with 12 points and seven rebounds.
• NSU shot 47.8 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from the arc, while outrebounding the Cougars 37-31.