Minnesota State University Moorhead

MARSHALL, Minn. - Senior Krista Opheim led the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons women's basketball to their 10th conference win on Friday night as she became the all-time assists leader for the program. The Dragons topped the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs 67-55.

Opheim tallied seven assists on the night, moving her career total to 438. She surpassed Lisa Clark (1983-87) who had held the record until tonight, with 435 total. Opheim's record breaking assist came with two seconds left in the first half as she hit a wide-open Kaycee Charette for a long three-pointer, moving the Dragons lead at half to 39-26.

The Dragons had a slow start, as the Mustangs went up by five early in the game. Meghan Rettke brought the team back into the game as she layed the ball into the hoop and connected from the free-throw line to complete the three point play and bring the Dragons to within two. Charette hit a jumper in the Dragons following possession to tie the game, both buckets were assisted by Opheim. The Dragons did not trail for the rest of the game.

MSUM began to break away from SMSU in the final four minutes of the first half as they went on a 12-3 run to close the half.

The Mustangs cut the Dragons lead to nine with 11 minutes left in the game but the Dragons scored seven unanswered points to take the 16 point lead and the momentum to win the game.

Rettke led the field with 17 points, charting her 11th double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Angie Jetvig tallied 14 points, going 6-for-10 from the field with eight rebounds. Alison Nash-Gerlach also contributed 13 points and seven rebounds. Opehim ended the game with eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Dragons are now 16-5 overall and are third in the league with a 10-4 mark. SMSU moves to 7-7 in the NSIC and 13-8 overall.

The Dragons will face the reigning National Champions, MSU Mankato on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Mankato, Minn. To watch the game, track stats or listen to the game choose one of the following options:

LIVE STREAMING
MSUM Dragons basketball games can be viewed for FREE on the internet, live on the Penn Atlantic Network through the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference LiveStreaming. Visit Free NSIC Web Streaming under the Dragons Sports Media tab on the Dragons homepage, www.msumdragons.com or www.northernsun.tv

LIVE RADIO
All Dragons basketball games are broadcast live by Steve d'Eustachio, the voice of the Dragons, on Dragons Sports Radio broadcast on 1660 ESPN. The pre-game show begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off and can also be heard on www.dragonradio.com

LIVE STATS
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE STATS AT MANKATO - WOMENS
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE STATS AT MANKATO - MENS