Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team built an eight-point halftime lead and went on to beat St. Cloud State, 74-62, in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Moorhead, Minn.

The Dragons improved to 13-8 overall and 9-8 in the NSIC with their third straight win while St. Cloud State fell to 13-8 overall and 9-8 in the league. The two teams are tied for fourth in the NSIC North Division; the top four teams in each division host a home game in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Senior forward Morgan Zabel led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds, while senior forward Megan Strese added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Sophomore guard Meghan Roehrich added 11 points off the bench, while freshman guard Natalie Van Wyhe added nine points. Senior Haley Thomforde led with five assists.

The Dragons shot 50 percent (22-of-44) from the field while holding St. Cloud State to 32.8 percent shooting (21-of-64). MSUM had a 39-28 edge in rebounds. The biggest advantage for the Dragons  came at the free-throw line, where MSUM hit 24-of-26 of its attempts, compared to 12-of-13 for the Huskies.

MSUM trailed 14-12 with 11:28 left in the first half but outscored the Huskies 22-12 to close the half and build a 34-26 halftime advantage. Sophomore Heather Strese paced the Dragons during that stretch with six points, while Megan Strese, sophomore Leah Miller and Natalie Van Wyhe had four points each.

The Dragons' post players, Megan Strese (six), Heather Strese (six) and Miller (four) combined for 16 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.  Zabel led the offense with seven points. The Dragons shot 48 percent (12-of-25) in the first half while holding the Huskies to just 29 percent (9-of-31) shooting.

The Dragon led shrunk to 46-43 with 11:26 left, but MSUM answered with 10 straight points to push the lead to double digits at 56-43 with 7:49 left.  Roehrich was the catalyst with two 3-pointers while Zabel had four points.

After that 10-0 spurt, MSUM's lead grew to as many as 16 and never dropped below 11 the rest of the night.

MSUM's bench play proved vital as the Dragons' reserves outscored St. Cloud State 32-12.  Roehrich, Van Wyhe, Heather Strese and Leah Miller combined for that total. Heather Strese added eight points, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.

The Dragons wrap up the four-game homestand -- and the weekend -- against Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. on Saturday.