Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Three Minnesota State University Moorhead players scored in double figures as the Dragon women beat Southwest Minnesota State, 72-62, in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Saturday at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead, Minn. The win completed a home weekend sweep for the Dragons (9-7, 6-6 NSIC).
Juniors
Morgan Zabel and
Haley Thomforde paced the Dragons with 15 points each, while senior
Kaycee Charette added 13 points. Zabel led with five assists while Charette had four, while Thomforde and senior
Marisa Yernatich shared the team lead with three steals. Junior
Megan Strese had 13 rebounds for MSUM, which was also a game-high.
Rebekah Rolling led SMSU (2-15, 1-11 NSIC) with a game-high 19 points.
While both teams shot comparably -- SMSU shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) and MSUM shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) -- the Dragons held a commanding 45-32 edge in rebounds, including 17-9 on the offensive glass.
MSUM trailed for less than thirty seconds in the game. The Dragons led 11-9 (16:55) before outscoring SMSU 13-7 over the next 4:32 to stretch the lead to 24-16 with 12:22 left in the opening half. Strese and Handevidt each scored four points during that stretch while Charette drained a three.
The Mustangs closed the gap to 24-20 with 10:46 left but a 12-4 run gave the Dragons a 36-24 lead, their largest of the first half. SMSU cut the lead to 38-33 at halftime.
Four Dragons had seven points or more, led by Charette with nine, followed by Thomforde and Strese with eight and Handevidt with seven. MSUM held a 27-13 edge in rebounds at halftime.
In the second half, the Mustangs closed the gap to 46-44 with 15:32 left, but an 11-2 Dragon run over the next three minutes helped MSUM gain separation at 57-46. Thomforde had five points during the run while Zabel had four.
SMSU was within 58-51 with 10:26 left, but the Dragons scored seven straight points to stretch the lead to 65-51. Charette scored four points while Yernatich drained a key three. From there, MSUM maintained a double-digit lead on its way to the win.
MSUM is back in action on Jan. 25 at Bemidji State.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight's win over Southwest Minnesota State is the first Dragon victory over the Mustangs in Moorhead since their 59-57 triumph on Feb. 6, 2009, ending a two-game home losing streak.
