MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team cut a 14-point first-half deficit to four in the second half but was unable to complete the comeback in a 73-65 home loss to St. Cloud State on Saturday at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead.
MSUM fell to 14-7 overall and 9-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while SCSU improved to 14-4 overall and 11-3 in the league. The loss ended a seven-game winning streak over the Huskies by MSUM.
Junior guard
Brooklyn Liegel and senior forward
Megan Hintz scored 14 points each to lead MSUM while junior guard
Sarah Jacobson had 12 points. Senior forward
Madi Green and sophomore forward
Peyton Boom had six rebounds each while sophomore guard
Natalie Steichen led with three assists.
The Dragons opened the game on an 8-3 run, highlighted by four points from Hintz. SCSU rallied to take a 13-12 lead after one quarter.
The Huskies outscored MSUM 24-16 in the second quarter and led by as many as 14 points on their way to a 37-28 halftime lead. Jacobson had 10 first-half points for the Dragons.
Baskets from Boom and Hintz brought MSUM within 37-32 early in the second half but the Huskies pushed the lead to 12 in the minutes ahead. The Dragons later responded with an 8-0 run — which included threes from Liegel and junior guard Lauren Tech — to cut the lead to 48-44. But each time the Dragons crept closer, the Huskies answered, as Madelin Dammann hit a three to push the lead back to seven.
MSUM was down 12 early in the fourth but went on an 8-0 run over a span of three minutes to cut the lead to 61-57, with Hintz capping off that stretch with a three-point play. Liegel also hit another three
But the Huskies responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to push the lead to 71-59 and MSUM got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Fech had five points off of the bench for MSUM.
MSUM hosts Minnesota State, Mankato on Friday to continue the homestand.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight's loss ended the Dragons' seven-game win streak versus St. Cloud St. which was the fifth-longest winning streak against opponents. The Dragons currently have the following winning streaks:
—Upper Iowa 24
—Bemidji St. 12
—Minot St. 11
—SMSU 9
