Box Score
WAYNE, Neb.-- The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team opened the second half on a 28-8 run on its way to a 61-50 upset of No. 8-ranked Wayne State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Saturday in Wayne, Neb.
MSUM improved to 16-8 overall and 12-8 in the NSIC with its sixth straight win while Wayne State, which saw an eight-game winning streak end, fell to 24-3 overall and 17-3 in the league. The Dragons are two games ahead of St. Cloud State for fourth place in the NSIC's North Division and just a game behind Minot State and Mary for second place. The top four teams in each division host a home game in the NSIC tournament; all the Dragons need is one win next week at home to secure a home game.
The Dragons were led by senior forward
Megan Strese, who had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Senior
Morgan Zabel added 16 points while sophomore forward
Heather Strese had a crucial contribution off of the bench with 10 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard
Meghan Roehrich added nine points and a team-high three assists off the bench.
MSUM shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62), but shot 50 percent (14-of-28) in the second half. Wayne State was held to 35.4 percent (17-of-48) shooting by the Dragon defense. MSUM had a dominant 49-26 edge in rebounds, including 20-4 on the offensive glass.
After a defensive struggle in the first half which saw Wayne State take a 22-18 lead into halftime, the Dragons took control to start the second half, going on the decisive 28-8 run to start the frame to build a commanding 46-30 lead with 8:13 left. Roehrich drained three 3-pointers during that run and accounted for nine points, while
Megan Strese had seven points and
Heather Strese six.
The Wildcats battled back to within 52-46 with 1:39 left but the Dragons weathered the storm by going 9-of-10 from the foul line in the final two minutes, led by a 6-of-6 effort from Zabel.
The Dragons conclude the regular season at home with a pair of games next weekend, starting Friday night against Minot State. Game time is 6 p.m. at Nemzek Fieldhouse.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: With this win, the Dragons have now won five games to begin the month of February. The last time they began February with at least five consecutive victories was 11 years ago, when they ripped off their first seven before getting beat in overtime at Southwest Minnesota State on Feb. 28, 2003.
