MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead outscored Northern State 19-11 in the final quarter on its way to a 51-44 win over Northern State in action Saturday in Aberdeen, S.D.

MSUM is now 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while Northern State fell to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.

It is the Dragons' first win in Aberdeen since Dec. 1, 2012.

How it happened…
In a game dominated by defense, MSUM trailed 33-32 going into the fourth quarter. The Dragons were down 37-34 with 6:24 left but scored 13 of the next 14 points to surge into a 47-38 lead with 43 seconds left.

That decisive run was led by seven points from junior forward Drew Sannes.

The Wolves cut the lead to 48-44 with 23 seconds left, but MSUM hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 21 seconds to make the final 51-44.

MSUM's defense was stellar once again, holding Northern State 30 percent (15-of-50) shooting, including 25 percent (4-of-16) from three-point range. The Dragons forced 15 turnovers.

The Dragons hot 29.1 percent (16-of-55) themselves while hitting 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) of their threes. MSUM had a slight 39-38 edge in rebounding.
MSUM led by as many as nine in the first half and took a 23-21 lead into halftime.

Impact Performances…
Sannes recorded her fourth straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Cassidy Thorson had a game-high 18 points, hitting 4-of-7 from three-point range.

Freshman forward Megan Hintz had a career-high 13 points off the bench along with recording six rebounds.

Senior guard Natalie Van Wyhe and sophomore guard Jacky Volkert each had four assists while Thorson and Van Wyhe led with three steals each.

Sannes had four blocks while Thorson added seven rebounds.

Up Next…
The Dragons host Mary at 6 p.m. on Friday in their NSIC home opener.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game
The last time the Dragons held their NSIC opponents under 50 on the road and won was when they were victorious at Bemidji State 74-46 on Dec. 3, 2010.