MOORHEAD, Minn. – Junior guard
Meghan Roehrich scored 19 points, but the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team came up short in its season opener on Friday, dropping a 70-61 decision to Wisconsin-Parkside in the opening game of the Highway 75 Classic in Moorhead, Minn.
MSUM fell to 0-1 with the loss while UWP improved to 1-0.
The Dragons were within 61-59 with four minutes left but the Rangers ended the game on a 9-2 run to secure the nine-point win.
Roehrich finished 5-of-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the win. She added six rebounds and an assist. Junior forward
Savanna Handevidt added 13 points and six rebounds, while junior forward
Heather Strese had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior
Jessica Hart led with four assists.
MSUM shot just 32.7 percent (16-of-49) compared to 41 percent (25-of-61) for the Rangers, who led 34-28 at halftime. MSUM had a slight 39-38 edge in rebounds.
The Dragons faced a six-point deficit at halftime but opened the second half on a 19-7 run to take a 47-41 lead with 11:29 left. Handevidt had seven points to lead the charge while Roehrich had five.
UWP turned the tables with a key 10-0 run to take a 51-47 lead, but MSUM scored four straight points to tie the game at 51-51. UWP scored six points in a row to take a 57-51 lead with 5:43 left and MSUM never got closer than two the rest of the way.
Junior
Cheyenne Ironheart added eight points in 14 minutes off the bench in her Dragon debut.
MSUM faces Northern Michigan at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Nemzek Fieldhouse in the third game of the Highway 75 Classic.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Including tonight's loss, the Dragons are 23-26 all time in season opening games (12-22 prior to
Karla Nelson, and 11-4 under Nelson snapping a three game winning streak). The last season-opening loss prior to tonight was a 61-57 setback in Phoenix, Ariz,. versus Southern Indiana on Nov. 19, 2010.