Box Score
NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Bracket
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team wrapped up a first-round home game in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament with a 74-61 win over Minot State in action Saturday at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead, Minn.
The Dragons improved to 15-11 overall and 12-10 in the NSIC with the win, while Minot State fell to 13-13 overall and 9-13 in the league.

MSUM will host Sioux Falls in the opening round of the tournament at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead. The game is part of a doubleheader with the men, as the Dragon men will host Southwest Minnesota State in the opening round at 8 p.m. The women's tournament bracket can be accessed at the link above.

Four MSUM players scored in double figures, led by junior Morgan Zabel with 20 points. Senior Marisa Yernatich added 15 points, while junior Megan Strese had 12 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year. Senior Kaycee Charette had 12 points, while junior Haley Thomforde had a career-high 10 assists.

Leading by four at halftime, the Dragons took control with a 15-5 run over the first 5:27 of the second half. Freshman Savanna Handevidt led the way with six points during the run while Yernatich had four as MSUM built a 47-33 lead.

The Dragons never let the lead drop below nine the rest of the way. They held a 55-46 lead with 8:48 left but extended the advantage with a 14-4 run to push the lead to 69-50 with 4:11 left. Zabel led the way with seven points during the stretch while Yernatich had six. The Dragons were never threatened the rest of the way.

The game was close for much of the first half with the biggest lead for either team being four points. MSUM trailed 26-24 with 3:23 left in the first half but responded by outscoring the Beavers 8-2 to close out the half to take a 32-28 lead into halftime.

For the game, MSUM shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59), compared to 42.1 percent (24-of-57) for the Beavers. The Dragons had a commanding 44-26 edge on the boards.

Handevidt finished with seven points for MSUM, while Thomforde has six. Yernatich led with three steals.

MSUM will host Sioux Falls at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round of the NSIC tournament.

Note: The Dragon seniors -- Yernatich and Charette were honored after the game. The two combined for 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting in the game as they helped the Dragons to a win in their regular-season finale.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Seniors Kaycee Charette and Marisa Yernatich appeared in the same game together for the 91st time tonight. During this four year span, with Charette and Yernatich in the lineup, the Dragons have a record of 54-37 including tonight's win.