MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team led by two at halftime, but cold shooting in the second half doomed the Dragons in a 49-45 loss to Northern Michigan during action at the final day of the Highway 75 Classic held at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn.

Sophomore guard Morgan Banasik was named to the all-tournament team. She had 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists in Saturday's game.

MSUM (0-2) shot just 32.1 percent for the game (17-of-53) but shot a cold 20.7 percent (6-of-29) in the second half, when the Dragons were outscored by a 22-16 margin. MSUM had a slight 37-36 edge in rebounds, thanks to an eight-rebound effort from junior Jessica Hart.

Banasik was the only Dragon in double figures. Junior guard Cheyenne Ironheart had eight points off the bench, while redshirt freshman forward Drew Sannes had seven points. Junior forward Savanna Handevidt led with four assists.

Alyssa Colla, the co-MVP of the tournament, led Northern Michigan (2-0) with 23 points.

The Dragons got off to a strong start, building a 17-10 lead in the first 10:14 of the contest. Junior guard Meghan Roehrich scored five points during the opening stretch while Handevidt, Sannes and freshman Cassidy Thorson each hit threes.

MSUM led the rest of the half and took a 29-27 lead into halftime. The Dragons shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24) in the opening 20 minutes.

The shooting cooled off in the second half, however, as the game turned into a defensive struggle.  The Dragons went more than 12 minutes without a field goal which allowed Northern Michigan to build a 43-35 lead with five minutes left.

Down 45-38, MSUM rebounded with five straight points -- two from Ironheart and a three from Banasik -- to climb with 45-43 with 2:04 left. The Dragons had a chance to tie in the final seconds but a shot wouldn't fall, and Colla hit two free throws to ice the game for Northern Michigan.

MSUM is back in action on Thursday at San Francisco State.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight's 49-45 loss to Northern Michigan was the first time the Dragons and their opponents failed to reach 50 points since Michigan Tech defeated the Dragons 47-44 on Dec. 21, 2007.

Highway 75 Classic All-Tournament Team
Alyssa Colla, Northern Michigan (Co-MVP)
Gaby Bronson, Wisconsin-Parkside (Co-MVP)
Lauren Gruber, Northern Michigan
Morgan Banasik, MSU Moorhead
Katrina Moenkedick, Minnesota Crookston