DULUTH, MINN.—The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team lost on the road to first-place Minnesota Duluth 70-47 on Saturday in Duluth, Minn. The two teams split the season series.
The Dragons fall to 16-11 overall and 11-9 in the NSIC. Minnesota Duluth improves to 20-5 overall and 17-2 in the NSIC.
MSUM shot 31.7 percent (20-of-63) from the field and 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from three compared to 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field and 50 percent (11-of-22) from three for the Bulldogs.
Senior forward
Megan Hintz led the Dragons with 16 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore center
Nicole Brown scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore guard
Natalie Steichen finished with a team-high six assists. Sophomore guard
Nicole Herbranson scored seven points.
In the first quarter, the Dragons kept the game close. At the 4:41 mark, a layup by Brown gave the Dragons a 9-7 lead. The Bulldogs responded with a 12-2 run to close out the quarter, and MSUM found themselves down 19-11 going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Dragons opened by closing the Bulldog lead. A Hintz layup cut UMD's lead to just five points. The Bulldogs would respond by going on by outscoring the Dragons 13-2, which put UMD up 32-16 with 3:27 remaining in the quarter. Heading into halftime, the Dragons found themselves down 40-23.
In the third quarter, MSUM battled back, going on a 15-5 run to cut the Duluth lead to 45-38 after a Hintz bucket. That run included eight points from Hintz and five from Herbranson.
The Dragons could not get any closer during the third quarter and went into the fourth down 50-38. The Bulldogs extended their lead in the fourth quarter.
The Dragons return home next weekend. MSUM hosts Minot State on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m. for Senior Night. The next day, the Dragons host UMary. Tip-off begins at 3:30 p.m. These two games will be the final regular season games before the Dragons play a home game in the first round of the NSIC tournament.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Entering Saturday's game, both the Dragons and Bulldogs led the NSIC in team defense, only allowing 59.7 ppg each.
