Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team remained in a tie for first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's North Division with 67-62 win over Wayne State in action Saturday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn.
MSUM (14-8, 11-7 NSIC) remains tied with St. Cloud State for first in the north division. Wayne State fell to 14-8 overall and 10-8 in the conference.
For the second straight night, junior
Morgan Zabel paced the Dragons with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, just missing a triple-double. She was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and was 18-of-18 from the line on the weekend. Zabel is 24-for-24 form the line in the Dragons' last four games and has hit 24 in a row overall.
Junior
Megan Strese added yet another double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while senior
Marisa Yernatich had 12 points.
After the game seesawed back and forth early and was tied at 12-12, MSUM outscored the Wildcats 12-4 over the next four minutes to build a 24-16 lead. The run was sparked by the Dragons' bench, as freshman
Jessy Noreen hit a three, while redshirt freshman
Meghan Roehrich had four points.
Wayne State cut the gap to 24-20, but the Dragons ended the half strong with an 11-4 run to take a 35-24 lead into halftime. Zabel had four points during that run, while junior
Haley Thomforde banked in a three-pointer.
The Wildcats started strong to begin the second half, going on a 19-10 run to cut the lead to 45-43 with 14:16 left. The Dragons responded with five straight points, including baskets from Thomforde and Zabel, to push the lead to 50-43 with 12:14 left.
The game stayed close until the end, although MSUM was able to hold a 61-54 lead with 1:48 left after a Zabel layup. Wayne State got within 65-62 when Addy Roller drained a three-pointer with 22 seconds left. however, Zabel drained a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to ice the five-point win for MSUM.
The Dragons will face St. Cloud State in a pivotal NSIC game on Friday in St. Cloud, Minn.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight was the Dragons' first win over Wayne State since their 66-63 win in Sioux Falls on Nov. 29, 2008 and their first win over the Wildcats in Moorhead since their 61-57 thriller on Jan. 22, 2008.
