Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. --  The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team cut a nine-point halftime deficit to one in the second half but came up short against Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday, dropping a 54-50 contest to the Bulldogs in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action in Duluth, Minn.

MSUM fell to 14-10 overall and 11-9 in the NSIC while UMD improved to 12-12 overall and 9-11 in the league.

Junior Haley Thomforde recorded the first double-double of her career with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Kaycee Charette added 12 points, while senior Marisa Yernatich had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Dragons shot 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the field while holding the Bulldogs to 30.6 percent shooting (19-of-62). However, MSUM was outrebounded 45-40 and also committed 20 turnovers.  UMD had a 23-7 edge in points off of turnovers.

MSUM trailed 29-21 at halftime after shooting just 29.2 percent from the field and committing 14 turnovers in the first half.  But the Dragons began chipping away in the second half.

The Dragons closed within 43-42 with 8:37 left when Thomforde hit a jumper. While they closed the gap to one on three separate occasions – they were not able to take the lead.
A layup by junior Morgan Zabel with 45 seconds brought MSUM within 51-50. But the Dragons would not score again, as UMD went 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the 54-50 win.

MSUM led once in the game – at 2-0 when Charette made a layup. The Dragons trailed by as many as 10 in the first half but stayed within striking distance at 29-21 at the break.
Zabel added nine points for MSUM, while junior Megan Strese had seven points.

MSUM returns home to face Mary on Feb. 22. The Dragons are still in strong position for a first-round NSIC home playoff game as they are in a three-way tie for second (along with Mary and Northern State) in the league's north division with an 11-9 mark.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight was the only game senior Marisa Yernatich lost in her hometown of Duluth, Minn. Her most productive game of the four was last season, where she scored a game-high 19 points and collected five rebounds helping her Dragons to an 84-77 victory on Feb. 10, 2012.