Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Senior Kaycee Charette scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team to a 73-65 home win over the University of Sioux Falls in Northern Sun intercollegiate Conference action Friday night at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM improved to 8-7 overall and 5-6 in the NSIC with the win, which snapped a three-game losing streak. USF fell to 8-7 overall and 5-6 in the league.

Charette finished 7-of-9 from the field and added seven rebounds for the Dragons. Jordan Morgan Zabel added 15 points and six rebounds off the bench for MSUM, while junior Megan Strese had 14 points and six boards. Junior Haley Thomforde had a strong all-around game with nine points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

MSUM took an eight-point lead into halftime but the Cougars cut the gap to 38-34 with 17:14 left. The Dragons then went on a 12-4 run over the next eight minutes to stretch their lead to 50-38. Charette scored five points during that spot, while Strese had three.

USF scored to make it 50-40, but seven straight points helped MSUM build a commanding 57-40 lead. Thomforde scored four points while Zabel converted a three-point play. The Dragons led by double digits for much of the rest of the way on their way to the victory.

The Dragons faced a 22-17 deficit with 6:16 left in the first half but grabbed the momentum with a 17-1 run over the next five minutes to surge into a 34-23 lead. Five different Dragons scored during the spurt, led by Charette with six points and freshman Leah Miller with four. MSUM took a 34-26 lead into halftime.

In the first half, MSUM shot 36.7 percent (11-of-30) but hit 9-of-11 free throws, compared to 4-of-7 for Sioux Falls. Charette led the way with 10 first-half points, while Strese and Miller had six each.

For the game, MSUM shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56), compared to 36.8 (21-of-57) for the Cougars. MSUM had a 43-34 edge in rebounds, including 11-6 on the offensive glass.

MSUM hosts Southwest Minnesota State for a 4 p.m. contest on Saturday.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight's first-ever game versus the University of Sioux Falls became the seventh different school from the state of South Dakota the Dragons have faced in their history dating back to 1966. The other schools are Augustana College, Huron University, Mount Marty, Northern State, South Dakota State and South Dakota Tech.