MOORHEAD, Minn. -- A 21-2 spurt to open the game and a big night from junior guard Meghan Roehrich proved to be the difference as the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team rolled to an 80-54 win over Winona State in action Saturday night at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM improved to 6-6 overall and 5-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with the win while Winona State, which entered the weekend tied for first in the league, fell to 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the conference.

Roehrich finished the night with 30 points, just two away from a career-high. She added a career-high nine rebounds while contributing two assists and two steals. Junior forward Heather Strese had her second straight solid performance with 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward Savanna Handevidt added 10 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Natalie Van Wyhe added eight assists to go with eight points while sophomore guard Morgan Banasik had a career-high 11 rebounds.

MSUM shot 41.4 percent (29-of-70) for the game while holding Winona State to 36.2 percent shooting (21-of-58).  The Dragons had a commanding 52-28 edge in rebounds, including 21-7 on the offensive glass. MSUM had a 24-5 edge in second-chance points.

The tone was set in the first 8:29 of the game as the Dragons outscored Winona 21-2 to open the contest.  The Dragons hit five 3-pointers during that run, which was led by seven points from Roehrich. Van Wyhe, Handevidt, Strese and junior Cheyenne Ironheart each had threes for MSUM as well.

The Dragon lead never dropped below double digits the rest of the night.

The Dragons lead 37-19 at halftime with Roehrich scoring 10 first-half points. Strese added nine while Banasik had nine rebounds.

Winona State cut into the lead in the second half and got as close as 55-44 with 9:12 left, but the Dragons answered with a 14-3 run over the next three-plus minutes to put the game out of reach at 69-47. Roehrich, who had 20 points in the second half, sparked the final spurt with five points while Strese had four and Handevidt converted a three-point play. The Dragons pushed the lead to as many as 27 on their way to the big win.

Redshirt freshman forward Drew Sannes had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench for MSUM while Ironheart had seven points.

MSUM returns to the road for four straight games starting next Friday at Mary.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons also beat Winona St. on Feb. 1, 2014 in Moorhead 79-62. This marks the first time that the Dragons have won two games in a row over the Warriors since sweeping them in the 2006-07 season. The Dragons won 72-68 in Winona on Jan. 13, 2007 and then 86-62 in Moorhead on Feb. 16.