Box Score
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Morgan Zabel's basket with five seconds left was the gamewinner as the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team edged Augustana, 78-76, in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D.

MSUM improved to 15-8 overall and 11-8 in the NSIC with its fifth straight win, while Augustana fell to 13-10 overall and 9-10 in the league. With the win and a loss by St. Cloud State, MSUM now holds a two-game lead for fourth place in the NSIC North Division. A top four finish would ensure the Dragons a home game in the opening round of the conference tournament.

The Dragons prevailed in a game which saw them lead by as many as 16 in the first half and trail by as many as seven in the final six minutes.  MSUM closed the game on an 11-2 run to earn the win.

Zabel, a senior forward, led MSUM with 22 points. Sophomore Savanna Handevidt added 15 points, just two away from tying a career-high. Senior guard Haley Thomforde had 13 points and a team-high five assists. Senior forward Megan Strese had another double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  Sophomore guard Meghan Roehrich added 10 points off the bench for MSUM.

The Dragons shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57) for the game while holding the Vikings to 36 percent (27-of-75). MSUM had a 40-33 edge in rebounds.

MSUM was down 76-72 with 2:49 left but cut the lead to two after a Thomforde layup with 2:36 left. The score stayed at 76-74 until there was one minute left; that is when redshirt freshman Morgan Banasik delivered with a key offensive rebound and putback to tie the game at 76-76.

Augustana missed a shot with 36 seconds left, giving the Dragons a chance to win in regulation. Zabel scored with five seconds left to give the Dragons the lead at 78-76. The Vikings missed their shot to tie in the final seconds to give MSUM a hard-fought two-point win.

The Dragons stormed out to a 33-17 lead over the first 11 minutes, hitting 13 of their first 18 field goal attempts (72.2 percent). The offense was spread around by the Dragons during that stretch as Zabel had nine points, while Thomforde had eight. Roehrich and Handevidt had seven points each for MSUM.

MSUM led the rest of the half, although Augustana cut the Dragon lead to 40-37 with 1:44 left in the half. The Dragons finished the half strong, however, scoring the final seven points – keyed by a three-pointer from Roehrich – to take a 47-37 lead into halftime.

MSUM shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) in the first half, compared to 34.2 percent (13-of-38) for the Vikings. Augustana was just 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) from three-point range while MSUM shot a blistering 71.4 percent (5-of-7).

Zabel had 14 first-half points for MSUM while Roehrich had 10, Handevidt nine and Thomforde eight.

Augustana came back in the second half to take a 74-67 lead before MSUM closed on the decisive 11-2 run to come back and earn the thrilling road victory.
Banasik added six points for MSUM.
 
The Dragons are at No. 8-ranked Wayne State on Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m. in Wayne, Neb.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight was the second time this season that five Dragons scored at least 10 points. Megan Strese (23), Savanna Handevidt (14), Morgan Zabel (12), Meghan Roehrich (11), and Heather Strese poured in 10 points when Northern State defeated the Dragons 96-88 in Moorhead on Nov. 30.