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Marshall, Minn. – The Northern State defense locked down the NSIC's top 3-point shooting team on Saturday afternoon, leading to an 82-62 victory at Southwest Minnesota State. A pair of big performances by Rianna Fillipi and Kailee Oliverson were key in handing the Mustangs their largest defeat of the season and largest home loss since NSU went into the R/A facility and won by 25 points on January 28, 2017.
 
THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 82, SMSU 62
Records: NSU 10-8 (5-7 NSIC), SMSU 11-6 (8-4 NSIC)
Attendance: 900
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• An Alayna Benike 3-pointer capped a 7-0 scoring run for Northern State in the opening minutes of the game, the run allowed the Wolves to grab the early momentum to race out to a 21-13 lead after ten minutes of play
• A Morgan Fiedler jumper and Kailee Oliverson layup extended the NSU lead to 12 points (25-13) early in the second quarter, however Southwest out-scored Northern 11-4 the remainder of the period to cut the NSU lead to five points at the halftime break
• SMSU was able to bring the game within one point early in the second half, but Rianna Fillipi sparked an 11-0 scoring run to push the Northern lead back to double digits
• The Mustangs were momentarily within six points twice in the fourth quarter, but the Wolves put the game away with a 14-3 scoring run in the final 5:16 of game time
• Southwest Minnesota State entered the game as the top 3-point shooting team in the NSIC, shooting the ball 37.3 percent with 9.4 made 3-pointers per game; the Wolves held the Mustangs to a season low 21.4 percent on 6-28 shooting from deep in the contest
• Fillipi notched her third career double-double and first of the season with a career-high 25 points while tying a career-high with 12 rebounds
• Fillipi (25 points) and Oliverson (21 points) became the first Northern State duo to score 20 or more points in the same game since January 11, 2020, when Brianna Kusler (31 points) and Lexi Roe (29 points) did so in a victory at Bemidji State
• The Wolves held a +16 advantage on the boards, out-rebounding SMSU 44-28
• NSU also held a 58-22 advantage in points in the paint, a 14-13 advantage in points off turnovers, and 12-6 advantage in bench points

 NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Rianna Fillipi: 25 points (career-high), 12 rebounds (tied career-high), 6 assists, 1 steal
Kailee Oliverson: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Laurie Rogers: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
 
UP NEXT
The Northern State women's basketball team returns to Aberdeen next weekend, welcoming Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul. The Wolves and Mavericks are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Friday evening, and Northern will then close out the weekend with a 6 p.m. tip-off against the Golden Bears on Saturday.