MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Junior guard Meghan Roehrich had 29 points and junior forward Heather Strese recorded her fifth double-double of the season to help the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team roll to a 78-56 win over Upper Iowa in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament Wednesday at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM (16-11) moves on to face Winona State in the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament quarterfinals on Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Winona State topped Mary, 67-62 on Wednesday night. Upper Iowa, which is 0-17 all-time against the Dragons, ended 7-20.

Roehrich finished 10-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, while adding seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in her final home game as a Dragon. Strese had another solid all-around night with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Ironically, a year ago

 Sophomore guard Natalie Van Wyhe had a game-high seven assists.

The Dragons shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) for the game while holding Upper Iowa to 32.8 percent (20-of-61). MSUM had a 43-34 edge in rebounds and only committed six turnovers on the night.

MSUM was down 22-19 in the first half with 8:09 left but went on a 15-3 run to close the half and take a 34-25 lead into halftime.  Strese sparked the charge with seven points while Roehrich had five and redshirt freshman Drew Sannes buried a three.

Neither team shot real well in the first half. The Dragons hit 36.7 percent (11-of-30) while Upper Iowa hit 33.3 percent (10-of-30)  from the field. Strese's 12 first-half points paced the Dragons.

MSUM took control with a 17-9 run to open the second half which gave the Dragons a 51-33 lead with 12:11 left. Strese again was the catalyst with eight points.

The Dragon lead grew to as many as 27 points in the second half in the win.

Junior forward Savanna Handevidt and freshman guard Cassidy Thorson had seven points each for MSUM.

The Dragons' game at Winona State will be at 8 p.m. on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The only other time these two teams met in the NSIC Playoffs was when the Dragons beat Upper Iowa 75-68 in the first round on Feb. 28, 2007. As a junior, current assistant coach Allison Swenson hit 6-for-7 shots, went 6/6 from the free throw line, finished with 18 points, collected a game high 11 rebounds including a game high 6 offensive boards, and also had a team high two steals in the win.