Aberdeen, S.D. - The Northern State University basketball team earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after taking down USF 55-52 in the NSIC Championship. The title marks the second in three years for the Wolves who now qualify for the Central Region Tournament for the fourth-straight season.

Northern also defeated Upper Iowa, Minnesota Crookston and Winona State to advance to the championship game, extending their win streak to eight games.
NSU proved to be strong on both ends of the court in the finals, shooting 50.0 percent from the three-point arc and nabbing six steals with seven team blocks.

The Wolves are currently shooting 44.9% from field goal range, 32.7% from the arc, and 72.2% from the foul line, while averaging 68.8 points, 39.5 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 12.9 turnovers, 6.2 steals, and 4.3 blocks per game this season.

Jill Conrad was named the tournament's most valuable player as she averaged 15.8 points, seven rebounds and shot 51.9 percent from the field in the four games of the tournament. Jill Conrad, Miranda Ristau and Paige Waytashek were all named to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate All-Conference Team after combining for 159 of the Wolves' 265 points in the tournament.

The Wolves and the Hornets will tip off at 12 p.m. from the campus of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

About the Hornets                                                                 

• Emporia State enters the Central Region Tournament as the No.1 seed after finishing 27-4 overall and 15-4 in the MIAA.
• The Hornets are shooting 43.1% from the floor, 35.6% from the arc, and 76.6% from the foul line, while averaging 78.8 points, 44.8 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 13.9 turnovers, 8.4 steals, and 5.3 blocks per game this season.
• Kelly Moten leads the team averaging 18.1 points with a shooting percentage of .456. Moten also is atop the team with 138 assists and 62 steals on the year.
• Kathryn Flott leads the Hornets with an average of 10.1 rebounds per game.
• Emporia State is led by head coach Jory Collins in his seventh season with the program.

Last Match-Up

• The Wolves dropped a 74-68 contest to the Hornets in the opening round of the Central Region Tournament in the 2015-16 season.
• Jill Conrad and Lauren Deadrick each posted 19 points for NSU, followed by Paige Waytashek with 11.
• Deadrick picked up nine of NSU's 35 team rebounds.
• The Wolves shot 46.8 percent from the floor, however struggled from three point range, hitting 1-of-10 from the arc.