MOORHEAD, Minn. – Action continues for the Dragon men and women's basketball teams as they hit to road to take on the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul and the Huskies of St. Cloud State University. On Friday, the women tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m. and on Saturday play starts at 4 p.m. for the women with the men to follow.

DRAGON WOMEN
The Dragon women (6-9, 3-8 NSIC) split their last weekend of play. The team's victory over Upper Iowa University on Jan. 13 earned Head Coach Karla Nelson her 200th career win as Dragon coach. Nelson is the first MSUM women's basketball coach to reach the 200-win plateau.

The MSUM ladies most recently fell to fellow NSIC opponent Winona State University. On Jan. 14 the Warriors edged out the Dragons 61-69 in a hard-fought game.

Junior guard Marisa Yernatich paced the Dragons during the first half of play by hitting four three-pointers, one of which came with only 24 seconds left to play in the first half. This three gave the Dragons a two-point edge as time ran out.

During the second half the Dragons kept up their strong defense and sharp shooting to keep a small lead over the Warriors. After only 10 minutes of play the tides began to turn. After a huge three-pointer by Marieanna Dulas the Warriors took a four-point lead and never looked back, building their lead up to 12 with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation.

MSUM started to make a run at Winona but time was running out. Forced to foul, the Dragons sent to the Warriors to the line 13 times. Boasting strong shooters, the Warriors hit 11-of-13 free throws giving them the eight-point victory as time expired.

Yernatich who went 5-of-6 from the three-point line for 18 total points led the Dragons.  Megan Strese was not far behind with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Angie Jetvig was also a key contributor with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Jetvig continues to lead the Dragons in both scoring and rebounds with 16.8 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Haley Thomforde leads the team in assists and steals with 2.8 and 1.6, respectively.

Last season, MSUM only met with Concordia and SCSU once. The Dragons dropped both games, falling by 12 on Jan. 21, 2011 to the Golden Bears and by nine on Jan. 22, 2011 to the Huskies.

CONCORDIA WOMEN
The Golden Bear women (7-10, 4-7 NSIC) sit No. 10 in the NSIC and are on a one-game win streak. On Saturday, Jan. 14, the Golden Bears dominated Bemidji State University, 93-69.  This victory snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Golden Bears.

The Golden Bears came out early in the first half and grabbed control of the game. After two minutes of play, the Beavers had a one-point lead on the Golden Bears, 4-3. After a made three-pointer by Carissa Wolyniec, Concordia capitalized on turnovers and missed shots to start a run that gave them a 23-point lead at the end of the first period.

In the second half, the Golden Bears continued to build their lead, their greatest being 31 points only nine minutes into the half. The Beavers trimmed the lead to 21 as time started to run down, but after committing two fouls, the Golden Bears took the win by 24 points.

The key for the Golden Bears success was their strong shooting. Concordia went 20-of-24 from the free throw line for 83.3 percent and shot 56.5 percent from the three-point line.

Sophomore guard Carissa Wolyniec led the team with 23 points and nine rebounds. She hit 7-of-10 three pointers and had three assists. Four other Golden Bears scored in double digits. Anne Skriba and Rachel Hansen had 14 points apiece and Mandy Poke and Anika Whiting both chipped in 11 points.

Whiting a freshman forward leads the team with 10.7 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game and sophomore guard, Hansen, is the leader in assists and steals with 3.1 and 1.2 respectively.

SCSU WOMEN
The St. Cloud State women (8-7, 5-6 NSIC) are No. 9 in the NSIC, right in front of Concordia- St. Paul. The Huskies topped the University of Minnesota Duluth, 65-59, on Jan. 14 in Duluth.

Duluth jumped ahead first opening the game with a three-pointer from Courtney Doucette. The Bulldogs were able to keep a consistent lead during the first half of the first period. After a three pointer by Carley Jeffery the Huskies took a two-point lead that they never gave back.

Leading by eight at the start of the second half, the Huskies almost gave away the game after letting the Bulldogs pull back to take a one-point lead. After a pair of three pointers from Jessica Benson and Rachel Moen the Huskies took back the lead and closed out the game with a six-point victory.

Hitting 19-of-23 free throws was a key to the team's success for the night. Senior forward Aaryn Booker had four of those free throws going 4-of-4. She led the team with 20 total points. Sophomore guard Rachel Moen was also a strong force from the free throw line going 6-of-6 posting eight total points. Freshman forward Jessica Benson contributed 14 points and three steals.

Senior guard Jordi Gerking leads the team with 8.9 points per game, Aaryn Booker is on top with 5.8 rebounds per game and junior guard Nicole Anderson leads the team with 2.6 steals and 2.3 assists per game.

DRAGON MEN
The No.18 Dragon men (13-2, 8-2 NSIC) fell to the No. 8 Warriors, 63-76, on Saturday, Jan. 14. Winona's victory over MSUM solidifies their No. 1 spot in the NSIC. Previously the Dragons and Warriors had been tied for first with matching records of 8-1.

The Warriors and Dragons were equally matched during the first half of play with the score being tied eight times. DJ Hamilton hit two free throws to tie the game at 36 with less then a minutes left on the clock. Then, Clayton Vette, a forward for the Warriors, hit a short-range jumper with only eight seconds left on the clock, giving the Warriors a two-point lead at the end of the first period.

Played remained the same throughout the first 10 minutes of the second period of play. With only 9:55 left to play in regulation the score sat tied at 52 for the 14th time during the game.

However, after two steals, a jumper and a dunk by Winona forward CJ Erickson, the Warriors set off a 24-11 run. The Dragons were forced to foul and continued their cold shooting, which allowed the Warriors to close out the game with a 13-point win.

Junior forward Jake Lindfors led the way for the Dragons with 21 total points, going 6-of-7 from the free throw line, and five rebounds.  Senior guard Andrew VanHavermaet was the sharp shooter for the Dragons hitting 4-of-6 from the three-point line for 12 total points. Senior guards Charlie Chapman and Hamilton both added 11 points as well.

Lindfors leads the team in points per game with 15.1, junior forward Alex Novak leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 per game and Hamilton leads the team with 3.5 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game.

Last season the Dragons defeated the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul by 12 points on Jan. 21, 2011, but turned around lost to the St. Cloud State University Huskies by 12 points the following night.

CONCORDIA MEN
The Concordia men, (6-9, 3-8 NSIC) the No. 10 team in the NSIC, lost both of their games on the road this last weekend to the University of Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State University.

On Saturday, Jan. 14 against Bemidji, Concordia came out strong and looked as though the game was going to go in their favor. After the first eight minutes of play, the Golden Bears had built a nine-point lead. After a quick timeout, Bemidji went on a run that set up a 30-point swing, giving them a 21-point lead at the end of the first period.

The Golden Bears kept with the Beavers throughout the entire second half, being outscored by only two points, but the Beaver lead was two great. Unable to overcome the 21-point deficit from the first, the Golden Bears fell 100-77.

Kenny Olafeso led the team in scoring with 19 points. Terez Van Pelt and Cordell Smith followed behind Olafeso with 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Kenny Olafeso is a key player for the Golden Bears. He leads the team in points per game with 17.8, rebounds per game with 5.5 and assists per game with 3.1. Kenny's brother, Peter Olafeso, leads the team with 1.1 steals per game.

SCSU MEN
The St. Cloud State men (13-2, 9-2 NSIC) boast the same record as the Dragon men and are tied for the No. 2 spot in NSIC. They are on a two-game win streak, their most recent victory coming over Minnesota Duluth, 89-54.

The Huskies controlled the game from start to finish. Despite a low shooting percentage, their strong defense led them to victory. The Huskies kept pressure on the Bulldogs by limiting them to a shooting percentage of 11 percent from the three-point line and 31 percent overall.

St. Cloud led the game by 19 points at the half and almost doubled their lead in the second half, winning the game by 35. Senior guard Bret Putz led the team with 26 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Other key contributors for the Huskies were junior guard Shaun Jensen with 13 points and forwards Kenquane Brown and Theo Rothstein added nine points each.

Jensen leads the team with 13.2 points per game and 5 assists per game. Putz is the team leader in steals with 1.7 per game and sophomore center Tim Bergstraser leads the team in rebounds with 7.7 per game.