MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team scored seven of the last nine points of the game in a 56-51 win over first-place Minnesota Duluth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM is now 14-6 overall and 9-4 in the NSIC while Minnesota Duluth fell to 14-5 and 11-2 in the league.

Senior forward Megan Hintz led MSUM with 20 points and nine rebounds. Senior forward Madi Green had 10 points and two steals. Sophomore forward Peyton Boom had nine points and six boards.

MSUM shot 37.9 percent (20-of-56) from the field compared to 35.7 percent by the Bulldogs. The Dragons had a 44-32 edge in rebounds, including 10-5 on the offensive glass.

The game was tied at 49-49 halfway through the fourth quarter before Boom converted a three-point play to give the Dragons a 52-49 lead with just over two minutes left. The Dragons got four straight stops, and then as the shot clock was about to expire, junior guard Lauren Fech buried a three-pointer to give MSUM a 55-49 lead with 17 seconds left.  UMD got no closer than four the rest of the way.

The game was close the whole way with the biggest lead for either team being eight points. The game was tied at 26-26 at halftime with Hintz scoring 10 first-half points. MSUM was up by as many as eight in the third but the Bulldogs closed the gap to two by the end of the frame, setting up a close final quarter.

Junior guard Sarah Jacobson had seven points and two assists.

MSUM hosts St. Cloud State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons are 3-2 versus Minnesota Duluth in the last 52 weeks with their win tonight, and they have played the Bulldogs in four different locations. The Dragons lost 69-53 in Duluth one year ago tomorrow, won 72-56 in Moorhead Feb. 16, then in the post-season, lost the NSIC Tournament Championship 52-48 in Sioux Falls on March 5, but then rebounded to beat the Bulldogs 63-54 in the NCAA playoffs ten nights later in Hays, Kansas.